PROVIDENCE – Robot submarines. Artificial, concrete oyster reefs. Seasonal, data-driven forecasting that can accurately predict weather conditions a year ahead of time.
These were among the blue technology ideas presented by nine startups in an event at the Cambridge Innovation Center Providence Thursday. The Innovation in Offshore Wind Startup Showcase, hosted by Orsted Offshore North America and SeaAhead, marked the first event hosted by the international offshore wind developer since it opened a national innovation hub in Providence two years ago.
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The showcase served as both an opportunity for entrepreneurs to connect to industry leaders, as well as a symbol of Orsted’s commitment to advancing the local economic development tied to a burgeoning offshore wind sector.
Neil Hamel, head of U.S. innovation and the venture hub at Orsted Offshore North America, detailed the milestones achieved since the company opened its innovation hub in Providence in March 2020: securing partnerships with other innovation-focused industry leaders such as event co-host SeaAhead; a pilot project with Groton, Conn.-based marine automation and monitoring innovator ThayerMahan; the hiring of two more full-time employees for its Providence innovation hub; and more than 400 meetings with industry-adjacent startups.
CIC Providence has also amassed 19 wind-related companies in its coworking and short-term lease office space, according to spokesperson Jules Slater.
Much of this progress has unfolded behind closed doors thanks to the pandemic, but Hamel sought to assure participants that the Danish company’s presence in Providence was very much alive, well and here to stay. Orsted is also developing a slew of offshore wind projects across the country, including two off the coast of Block Island.
“A market running at full tilt can often make a corporation look like it’s standing still,” he said.
But to keep moving, Orsted needs innovation, which is exactly what its event aimed to foster.
The ideas presented were as vast and varied as the ocean that will soon house these towering wind turbines, a mix of “hardware,” or physical tools, and “software,” or technology.
Two companies were based out of Rhode Island, while others came from Virginia, or even London. Some had already secured big-name energy clients and major funding rounds, while others were still in their infancy, having just begun their ventures in the last year or two.
They shared a passion for their projects and applying their ideas to aid the renewable energy industry, including offshore wind.
“You want to build a wind farm in a windy place but you don’t want to construct it on a windy day,” said Raymond Schmitt, co-founder and president of Salient Predictions, which offers more precise seasonal weather forecasting.
Meanwhile, Dive Technologies, which is now part of parent company Anduril Industries, can use its robot-controlled submarines – also known as underwater autonomous vehicles – to scan and collect data from the sea floor, flagging boulders or “other interesting parts of the subsea” that developers need to know about when building wind turbines, said Matthew DePetro, Dive’s lead.
Eagle Wu, co-founder of virtual reality technology company Vinci VR, explained how virtual reality can help wind turbine workers prepare for the 300-foot heights and sea sickness they will face when on the job.
“Besides Block Island, we don’t actually have any wind farms, so it’s kind of a chicken-and-egg situation,” Wu said.
Wu gave attendees a firsthand look into his product, donning a virtual reality headset that was projected onto a screen, showing a kind of “day in the life” of a wind turbine maintenance technician.
Unlike typical pitch competitions, which often award a winner and give a financial or in-kind prize, the showcase’s top prize was discussion: connecting entrepreneurs to one another and to the potential partners who can help them, and ultimately help the offshore wind sector. More than 300 people registered to attend the event, which was offered both virtually and in person, according to Hamel.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us here,” said Alissa Peterson, executive director for SeaAhead. “We believe this innovation can play a key role in putting our own special U.S. imprint on this industry.”
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Lavin@PBN.com.
