The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, OceanX and the World Economic Forum’s 1000 Ocean Startups Coalition today celebrated two partnerships promoting ocean innovation during the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, UAE.

The partners came together to mark their respective collaborations and celebrate featured ocean innovators and their technologies aboard OceanXplorer, the most advanced exploration, scientific research, and media production vessel ever constructed. The World Economic Forum and OceanX’s collaboration provides OceanXplorer’s cutting-edge technology to ocean start-ups, supported by the Forum’s 1000 Ocean Startups coalition (1000OS) to promote blue technology. Meanwhile, the Forum and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation (FPA2) have a joint commitment to the Foundation’s Ocean Innovators Platform, which showcases the most impactful ocean solutions and entrepreneurial innovations working to conserve the world’s ocean, seas, and marine resources. The two partnerships ladder up to a collective effort supporting pioneering entrepreneurs who are committed to ocean conservation and solving the future’s most pressing ocean health issues.

“An entrepreneurial approach to ocean and climate issues is increasingly necessary and increasingly relevant,” said Olivier Wenden, Vice-President and CEO of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. “The Ocean Innovators Platform has been set up to bridge the gap between solutions and financing. We are very honored to be joined in our mission by the World Economic Forum’s 1000 Ocean Startups coalition. We are also grateful for the support given by OceanX to the Foundation’s missions over the years.”

The collective efforts by OceanX, FPA2 and 1000OS will promote and support the development of new blue technologies and solutions in support of a sustainable ocean economy.

“OceanX has always pushed the boundaries of exploration, creating solutions and new technologies to address the unique challenges of exploring, understanding and protecting the ocean,” said Mark Dalio, founder and co-CEO of OceanX. “We are thrilled to partner with the World Economic Forum’s 1000 Ocean Startups coalition to support and promote ocean technology and innovation that furthers our shared goal of creating global change for the ocean.”

The three organizations will work together to foster cutting-edge technologies and inventive solutions at the forefront of ocean innovation. In addition, ocean innovators will be invited to test their creations during research missions aboard OceanXplorer, the advanced exploration, scientific research, and media production vessel utilized by OceanX in its operations. The vessel sports the latest technologies in ocean exploration, including two Triton deep-sea submersibles depth-rated to 1,000 meters and a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) depth-rated to 6,000 meters. The trials will provide groups with insight on the impact, engineering, and design of their innovations.

The new partnerships will also advance solutions to fast-track a sustainable ocean economy around the world.

“The ocean economy is vital to the livelihoods of 3 billion people, of whom up to seven out of 10 are women. Protecting and restoring ocean health supports the climate and biodiversity, strengthens community resilience and wellbeing, and stimulates local development. Ocean innovations that address people, planet and economic vitality remain a largely untapped opportunity,” said Gim Huay Neo, Managing Director at the World Economic Forum. “OceanX and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation are early champions in the field of ocean innovation. We are delighted to be partnering with them through the 1000 Ocean Startups coalition to celebrate the ecopreneurs who are pathfinding solutions towards a more sustainable ocean economy.”

The celebration of the two partnerships took place during the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, UAE, where global ocean exploration nonprofit OceanX hosted a Blue Zone Pavilion with IOC-UNESCO.

Featured innovators included:

● Archireef, a nature-tech company dedicated to the restoration of degraded marine ecosystems, and its creation Reef Tile, the world's first 3D-printed reef tiles created from clay and designed to transform underwater deserts into thriving habitats for coral;

● NatureMetrics, an end-to-end solution for nature monitoring and impact reporting, powered by eDNA; and

● Distant Imagery, an environmental-technology company that showcased its self engineered, recycled wood drones and 3D printed planting rigging equipment.

Other innovators supported by the partnerships will include Project Orpheus, a Propeller start-up based on technology developed by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Project Orpheus enables access to the deepest parts of the ocean and was first tested at sea during a 2018 OceanX-Bloomberg Philanthropies mission to the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument off the coast of the northeastern United States.

###

Photo (courtesy of OceanX) - leaders celebrating commitment to ocean innovation at COP28, from left to right: Christian Lim, Managing Director, Blue Ocean; Alexis Grosskopf, Founder and CEO, OceanHub Africa (Co-Chairs of the World Economic Forum’s 1000 Ocean Startups); Ray Dalio, Founder, OceanX; Romain Ciarlet, Executive Director, Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation; Gim Huay Neo, Managing Director, World Economic Forum; Peter Thomson, UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Ocean and Co-Chair, World Economic Forum’s Friends of Ocean Action

###

About the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation

Founded by HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco in 2006, the eponym Foundation is a global non-profit organization, committed to progressing Planetary Health for present and future generations by co-creating initiatives and supporting hundreds of projects across the Planet. The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation focuses its efforts on three principal domains of action: climate change, biodiversity and water resources, in the following main geographical regions: the Mediterranean Basin, the Polar Regions and the Least Developed Countries. The Foundation has already granted 110 million euros to fund more than 785 projects that focus on limiting the effects of climate change, promoting renewable energies, protecting the ocean, preserving biodiversity, managing water resources and combating deforestation. The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation has 11 foreign branches in the following countries: France, United-States, United-Kingdom, Switzerland, Canada, Germany, Italy, Singapore, Spain, China and Latin America (based in Brazil). For more information, visit www.fpa2.org and follow us on Linkedin, Facebook, Instagram, and X.

About OceanX

OceanX is a mission to support scientists to explore the ocean and to bring it back to the world through captivating media. Uniting leading media, science, and philanthropy partners, OceanX utilizes next-gen technology, fearless science, compelling storytelling, and immersive experiences to educate, inspire, and connect the world with the ocean and build a global community deeply engaged with understanding, enjoying, and protecting our oceans. OceanX is an initiative of Dalio Philanthropies, which furthers the diverse philanthropic interests of Dalio family members. For more information, visit www.oceanx.org and follow OceanX on Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, and LinkedIn.

About 1000 Ocean Startups

1000 Ocean Startups is a coalition to accelerate ocean innovation for ocean health hosted at the Ocean Action Agenda at the World Economic Forum’s Centre for Nature and Climate. The coalition’s vision is to mainstream ocean impact innovation and bring the ocean impact innovation ecosystem to maturity. The coalition counts 37 members of entrepreneur-supporting organizations, encompassing venture capital funds, incubators, accelerators and innovation platforms. To date, these organizations have mobilized nearly $1.5 billion in assets under management. In addition, members have incubated, accelerated, mentored and invested in over 350 ocean start-ups. These start-ups represent the building blocks of a regenerative ocean economy across sectors, including the future of aquaculture, filling the ocean-data gap, developing bioplastics, inventing new energy sources, decarbonizing shipping, cleaning up coastal waterways and more. For more information, visit www.1000oceanstartups.org and follow 1000 Ocean Startups on LinkedIn and X.