SUPERCLUSTER: The Ocean Economy Boost

Canada’s Ocean Supercluster has a goal of growing the ocean industry in all it’s various forms in Eastern Canada, availing of the 3 $Trillion opportunity that Canada’s ocean and coastline provide. The Ocean Supercluster is expected to create over 3,000 jobs and contribute more than $14 billion to Canada’s economy over 10 years.

The Ocean Supercluster has goal of collaborating with, supporting, and elevating, game-changing innovation projects that will be technologically advanced in terms of ocean related products and services. These innovations will be for sale locally and to the world.

A major key to success of the OSC is the pipeline of project opportunities. There is on-going focus of the management team on identifying potential collaborators and helping organizations develop and mature project ideas to meet the requirements of the OSC. Most recently the Ocean Supercluster announced a primary initiate called the Ocean Startup Project.

The Ocean Startup Project

The Ocean Supercluster, which is one of the federal government’s five superclusters introduced under the Innovation Superclusters Initiative, is rolling out a new program to support ocean technology start-ups. 

The Ocean Startup Project aims to increase industrial use of marine technologies and grow the ocean industries workforce by helping businesses hire employees.

The program will identify academic prospects with high potential for commercialization, showcase industry issues and develop solutions with global market potential, and award grants.

The Ocean Supercluster, which focuses on industries like marine renewable energy, fisheries, aquaculture, oil and gas, defence, shipbuilding, and transportation, has partnered with six Atlantic Canadian incubators, accelerators and support organizations for this project: Creative Destruction Lab, Genesis, Innovacorp, New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, PEI BioAlliance and Springboard Atlantic.

This project represents a total investment of up to $6.8 million, including over $4.4 million from the federal government ($3.9 million from the Innovation Superclusters Initiative and $535,000 from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency) and $2.4 million in contributions from Atlantic provincial governments and the six project partners.

Kendra MacDonald, CEO, Ocean Supercluster, said , “The Ocean Startup Project represents an unprecedented collaboration and investment to grow more ocean companies in Atlantic Canada. This is an incredibly important part of building capacity, expanding our capabilities, and setting ourselves up for success as we embark on what we know will become a $3 trillion global ocean opportunity by 2030.”