Canada’s Ocean Supercluster, the federal organization that organizes joint funding partnerships with the private sector, has announced a raft of 16 ongoing projects that are worth a total of $52 million.

The combined funding package represents one of the highest dollar values ever associated with a single Supercluster announcement, although the individual projects are discrete undertakings. The Supercluster is paying $23 million, with the rest coming from the private sector partners.

The projects are the evolution of work conducted thanks to a call for proposals the Supercluster released in 2021 for technology related to improving supply chain capacity and resilience.

“The 16 projects announced today build on the success of active (Ocean Supercluster) projects with expanded scope and will help industry access and acquire the capability Canadian companies need now to become and stay globally competitive,” said the Supercluster in a statement.

"The CASCE (Capacity and Supply Chain Expansion) Program is helping to strengthen and grow supply chains and increase the capacity of Canadian ocean-focused companies, de-risking the acquisition of critical assets that are needed to accelerate commercialization and enable existing projects to meet the growing demand for their products and services.”

Notably, as the Supercluster looks to increase its work with companies based outside of Atlantic Canada, several of the organizations receiving funding are based outside the region, such as British Columbia’s Nanaimo Port Authority, Ontario-based marine imaging specialists Voyis, the U.K.'s Plymouth Marine Laboratory and Equador-based Eurofish S.A.

Here’s a look at the projects:

Tech Companion – Operational and In-Service Support 

$1.4 million

Modest Tree Media, Cartenav Solutions, and Mitacs 

This project will support the development and deployment of digital technologies for ocean manufacturers and service providers through an integrated service-hub called “Tech Companion” that centralizes data in a remotely accessible, intelligent, and automated digital ecosystem for use in ocean industries. 

Production Resilience in Subsea Sensor Manufacturing Project (PRISSM) 

$1.5M 

Voyis Imaging and Advantage Machine & Tool

The PRISSM project aims to enhance and expand Canadian production capability and supply chain resilience in subsea optical-sensor manufacturing to meet the increasing market demand. 

COMPASS Scale- Up Project 

$3.3M 

Sensor Technology Ltd., Kraken Robotics, JASCO Applied Sciences and Smart Sea Tech 

This project will assist the business to scale up production and develop enhanced versions for additional applications of the Thin Line Array developed in the original project – a portable technology capable of collecting and analyzing passive acoustic data in real time, onboard untethered autonomous underwater vehicles. 

Enhanced SPC Manufacturing Application Data Collection and Logistics Project 

$3.3 M 

Graphite Innovation and Technology and Canadian Maritime Engineering

GIT is expanding into a Net Zero facility in Atlantic Canada and increasing production capacity 12 times while improving efficiency through automation and Artificial Intelligence. In this project, GIT is collaborating with shipyards to improve access to sustainable biocide free, low friction coatings across Canada and the globe. 

Enhancing the OceanDNA System via Automation and Market Positioning Project 

$1.1M 

eDNAtec and the Nunavut Fisheries Association

This project will enable eDNAtec to expand its analytical capacity to meet growing customer demands, as well as performing real-world demonstration projects of the benefits of eDNA technologies in fisheries and biodiversity management with the Nunavut Fisheries Association. 

Expansion of Canadian Rope-on-Command Fishing Capacity Project 

$1.4M 

Ashored, Sensor Technology Ltd., and eSonar

This project is supporting Ashored to increase manufacturing capabilities and strengthen supply chains to ensure that their rope-on-command technology can be delivered to fishermen on time and on budget. 

TallyVision

$1.1M 

ThisFish, Orca Specialty Foods, Eurofish S.A.

This project will embed both machine learning and computer vision artificial intelligence into seafood production and traceability software and advance ThisFish’s work on integrating computer vision technology - branded TallyVision. 

Commercialization of Sustainable Protein for Aquaculture: Market Introductory 

$7M

DeNova, CFFI Ventures, Center for Aquaculture Technologies, The Verschuren Centre, Innovasea Marine Systems Canada, Smallfood, MCA Consulting and Cooke

This project will expand DeNova’s capacity to produce large volumes of its protein ingredient that will accelerate market adoption and support the design of its first-level commercial plant. This will ultimately enable market entry by the end of 2023, growing to full scale production of 100,000 metric tons of protein per year by 2026. 

Multiport International Data Enhancement (MIDE) 

$11.1M

BlueNode and Saab Technologies

This project focuses on the expansion of the BNSuite of applications developed in the original PIED project. MIDE focuses on the development of BNNet, an application that provides the translation and correction functions needed to make the organization work more efficient and reliable. 

Data Enhancement Framework (DEF)

$1M

BlueNode and the Port of Saint John

This project builds on MIDE, the predecessor project, focusing on a critical component of the value/supply chain in data management software application, the connectivity to the various operational functions of an organization. 

Data Enhancement Framework 2 (DEF2) 

$2.7M

BlueNode, the Port of Saint John, PSAGlobal and the Port of Halifax

This project builds on DEF, the predecessor project. The software will analyze operational functions of an organization for the purposes of operational analysis and coordination amongst stakeholders; as well as the appropriate cyber-security to allow data collaboration. 

Commercialization & Capacity Expansion of OSC Projects 

$1.4M 

RBR, Plymouth Marine Laboratory and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans

This project is focusing on four significant opportunities that expand on the original RBR project: acquisition of a deep pressure vessel tank; building an optical test; acquisition of a Fast-Cooling Temperature Calibration Bath; and acquisition of an incoming inspection optical scanner. 

Project Foundry

$6.6M 

Katal Energy, Valent Low Carbon Technologies and Miawpukek Horizon Maritime Services

This project will deliver environmental benefits to the ocean economy through the deployment of Katal’s first fuel supply depot in the world located on Canada’s East Coast and serving the marine sector. 

Remote Ocean Data Surveillance and Analysis (RODSA) 

$4M 

Shift Environmental Technologies, BlueNode, Avestec, VideoRay, the Nanaimo Port Authority and Snuneymuxw First Nation

This project brings together Canadian ocean technology innovators to integrate existing and emerging systems onto a common platform. Specifically, the project will enable advanced, remote surveillance and inspections of ocean infrastructure. 

CoLab Enterprise Phase II - Commercialization, Expansion and Technological Scaling 

$3M 

CoLab Software, Genoa Design, Kraken Robotics, Energy Research & Innovation Newfoundland and Labrador and Aker Solutions Canada

This project will focus on two main areas: accelerating commercialization of CoLab Enterprise and advancing the software solution for Enterprise Design Review.