Atlantic Canada is establishing itself as a global hub for innovation in ocean-related industries. This has sparked a growing number of oceantech startup launches, and several support organizations focusing mainly on the young sector. Here are a few support organizations in the field.

Click on the logo for more information on each organization.

Canada’s Ocean Supercluster

Kendra MacDonald

The Ocean Supercluster is an Atlantic Canadian partnership between the federal government, private companies and academic institutions that aims to fund technological advancement in the marine sciences and engineering. One of five innovation superclusters in Canada, it expects to create ocean-related R&D projects worth more than $350 million over five years.

Creative Destruction Lab – Atlantic

Jeff Larsen

CDL-Atlantic has offered programming for oceantech companies since it was launched in 2017, and now has a special channel for ocean innovation companies. The CDL is primarily a mentorship group that assembles wealthy business people to mentor and invest in young innovation companies during a six-month program.

Start-Up Yard at COVE

Shelley Hessian

Located at the Centre for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship on the Dartmouth waterfront and managed by Innovacorp, Start-Up Yard is an incubation facility for early-stage oceantech ventures. It offers acceleration programs and funding, incubation space and services, shared equipment, harbour access for testing products, and mentoring.

Ocean Startup Project

Donald Grant

The Ocean Startup Project, overseen by Canada’s Ocean Supercluster, aims to identify and develop oceantech startups. Its Ocean Startup Challenge provides $25,000 plus in-kind services to as many as 10 startups. They may then move on to a follow-on competition, which offers prizes of $100,000.

SEATAC

Marie MacCormick

Funded by NSERC and offered through the Nova Scotia Community College, SEATAC is part of a network of Technology Access Centers across Canada. It provides R&D services to small and medium-sized companies in the ocean technology sector.