Kitchener-based startup Coastal Carbon has received $1.6 million in funding from Canada’s Ocean Supercluster (OSC) to undertake the AI-Driven Sensors for Seaweed Measurement Project.
Co-founded in 2022 by Waterloo Engineering alumni and PhD candidate Kelly Zheng (BASc '19, chemical engineering) and Thomas Storwick (BASc ‘19, nanotechnology engineering and MASc ‘21, chemical engineering), the company’s mission is to tap the ocean for valuable data.
“The ocean is a huge resource to fight climate change, but crucial data is largely inaccessible,” said Storwick.
In collaboration with seaweed farmer HoldFast NL, the AI-Driven Sensors for Seaweed Measurement Project, will enable Coastal Carbon to develop its small, non-intrusive sensors to remotely measure seaweed biomass and quantify that data using artificial intelligence.
“We are using sensors and artificial intelligence to detect and analyze what’s underwater,” Zheng added. “Seaweed is one of the fastest growing organisms in the world, providing large amounts of carbon sequestering and is an important resource that should not be overlooked.”
Coastal Carbon’s tech can better measure blue carbon credits for seaweed farmers, and the company is working with stakeholders on the supply and demand side — farmers credits and companies looking to purchase ones to offset greenhouse gas emissions.
Go to A fight against climate change is happening under water for the full story.