AquaHacking, four water teams and $52,500 in prizes
Four water teams.
$52,500 in prizes.
The AquaHacking Challenge for the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence, run by AquaAction, held its finale on 5 November in Detroit. Twelve teams pitched at the end of a seven-month program with more than 300 competitors from Canada and the United States. The release gives prizes in dollars without naming the currency.
- BlueLoop BioWorks, first place, $25K: converts fish-processing byproducts from the Great Lakes into biomaterials, peptide fertilizers and oil fractions. The release names Abhishek Udawat of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The prize was co-presented by Urban Tech Xchange (UTX) and Warner Norcross + Judd.
- Limnetic Optical Solutions, second place, $15K: an AI-powered underwater camera that detects fish and records only when wildlife is present. The team is Jessica Reemeyer, Aaliyah Lahai and Ashleigh Addison of the University of Regina. Sponsored by UTX.
- EchiDNA Environmental, third place, $10K: a reusable environmental DNA filter that needs no pump. The team is Haolun (Allen) Tian and Luke Schmidt of Queen's University. Sponsored by UTX.
- Enactus Windsor, "100% Fish", People's Choice, $2.5K: turns fish-processing waste into products such as a collagen cream. The team is Andrew Booth, Kent Walter and Trevor Kloppenburg of the University of Windsor. Sponsored by Atterx Biotherapeutics.
Who pays: the three placing prizes and the People's Choice award are credited to sponsors, UTX across the first three and Atterx Biotherapeutics for the audience award. UTX is also the event's platinum sponsor. The event was co-hosted by AquaAction, the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative and the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers. AquaAction says it was established by the de Gaspé Beaubien Foundation, accelerated by Ovivo and powered by RBC.
These are early teams, not established companies. Each is listed with a university, and the release describes the program as taking early-stage ventures toward pilots. It does not say how many team members are students.