COVE Connect | June 2023

“The H2O: Home to Overseas Conference provided an invaluable platform for networking and learning with like-minded individuals who are passionate about advancing marine technology. Conversations sparked, partnerships formed, and innovative solutions were brainstormed. The Conference showcased the power of collaboration and the potential for exponential growth in this sector,” says Melanie Nadeau, CEO of COVE.

“The connections made, insights shared, and perspectives gained during this event will undoubtedly propel this industry forward. COVE is honored to have been a part of the H2O Conference and to have hosted COVE Demo Day, and we are committed to continuing its mission of fostering innovation, collaboration, and growth in the marine technology sector. The future for the industry is bright, and COVE is excited to be at the forefront of this exciting journey.”

The OTCNS-led H2O: Home to Overseas Conference took place from June 12-13 at the Halifax Convention Centre and had over 700 attendees. The conference included various educational and informative presentations and panels discussing a broad range of topics in the marine technology industry.

Day One of the Conference had a focus on government policy and practice and marine procurement, with presentations and panels about industry technology benefits (ITB) framework, Canadian federal government programs focused on innovation and commercialization, and Canadian federal government marine procurement outlook.

During Day One of the Conference, Chris Pogue, President and CEO of Thales Canada, announced the COVE and Thales Naval Technology Innovation Challenges winners during the ITB framework panel. Congratulations, CORSphere, the selected proponent for the Vessel Maintenance Optimization challenge, and Datifex, the proponent chosen for the Digital Dockyard challenge. Read more about the Naval Technology Innovation Challenge below in the “Ocean News” section.

Day Two of the Conference focused on industry with presentations and panels about workforce development, private sector investment in the blue economy, how to build ocean tech companies, offshore wind farms, vessel decarbonization, and autonomous vessels in complex environments.

During Day Two of the Conference, COVE’s Director of Workforce Development, Tanya Lush, moderated the Increasing Industry Capacity Through Skill Development panel. The engaging panel discussed early career skill development with youth, on-demand and industry-driven credentials, and the new realm of “micro-credentials” tailored for the industry.

Overall, the H2O Conference was an exciting two days with insightful knowledge from experts in the industry. We look forward to next year’s Conference on June 3-4, 2024.

This year’s COVE Demo Day marks significance as our largest Demo Day yet, with over 50 companies showcasing their technology and almost 500 attendees! This year, companies on the showcase stage, the blue stage, and the innovation stage, showed off their technology in action through on-water demonstrations and through high-level presentations. This year’s Demo Day also included five Tech Alley tents where companies had table top displays, as well as open bays where attendees could visit COVE resident companies and organizations. Tours of the COVE facility and the Stella Maris Operations Centre were also provided throughout the day, and attendees had the opportunity to tour the HMCS Moncton, which was docked for the duration of the day.

Thank you to everyone who attended and supported COVE Demo Day 2023! A huge thank you goes out to our marine technology community and our generous sponsors, who helped make the event a huge success! We are already looking forward to our next COVE Demo Day on June 5, 2024, to continue bringing our community and the public the latest innovative marine technology demonstrations.

20 July 2023 | 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. | 27 Parker Street, Dartmouth, NS

COVE’s next Ocean Connector is taking place on July 20, 2023, onsite in Colin MacLean Hall. Save the date and join us to learn about important topics in the marine industry and network with others in the marine tech sector. Stay tuned for more information to come!  

5 July 2023 | 9:00 a.m. ADT

Please join COVE and our partner, University of Rostock Ocean Technology Campus, to learn about how you can connect with fellow early career professionals from around the world, learn about marine technology, and gain information and understanding of marine technology partners in Germany.

COVE and the University of Rostock Ocean Technology Campus will host a webinar on RoOT Ocean School on July 5th at 9:00 a.m. ADT. Sign up to learn how you can experience Ocean School in Germany, learn about the success of Ocean School2022, get details on the upcoming 2023 Ocean School in September, and learn about the scaled partnership between COVE and the University of Rostock Ocean Technology Campus.

The webinar will be hosted by COVE’s Director of Workforce Development, Tanya Lush, COVE’s Director of Strategic Partnerships, James Kesten, and Dr. Heike Link, Head of Ocean Talent Project, Faculty of Interdisciplinary Research, Department Maritime Systems, University of Rostock.

Register for the webinar here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/webinar-opportunity-for-early-career-marine-professionals-in-germany-tickets-662976870667?aff=oddtdtcreator.

Don’t miss COVE’s Director of Workforce Development, Tanya Lush, deliver her seminar, Building a Diverse and Inclusive Talent Pipeline for the Ocean and Marine Sector of Atlantic Canada, Tools for Best Practice and Lessons Learned, at the Oceans 2023 Gulf Coast Conference and Exposition!

OCEANS is an annual event for global marine technologists, engineers, students, government officials, lawyers, and advocates. At OCEANS 2023 Gulf Coast, industry thought leaders gather for four days to highlight relevant topics and current trends while creating a community of learners and influencers who consistently advance research, practices, and policies for the marine field.

The conference, which will have over 2000 attendees and unprecedented networking, will include:

• Over 500 professionally reviewed technical papers, including sessions focused on local themes.
• Plenary sessions with leaders from industry, academia, the military and government.
• 100+ exhibitors showcasing the latest innovations in products and services.
• A student poster session featuring outstanding projects from around the world and other student activities.

Training Sessions, workshops, demonstrations, government listening sessions, social and networking opportunities, professional field trips …and much, much more.

Register for the event here: Oceans 2023 Gulf Coast Conference and Exposition – COVE Ocean.

During the H2O Conference on June 12, Chris Pogue, President and CEO of Thales Canada, announced the COVE and Thales Naval Technology Innovation Challenges winners during the Industrial Technology Benefits Investment Framework: Policy and Practice panel. Congratulations, CORSphere, the selected proponent for the Vessel Maintenance Optimization challenge, and Datifex, the proponent chosen for the Digital Dockyard challenge. COVE will work with CORSphere and Datifex to monitor the implementation process of their winning solutions for a period of five months before the companies present their winning solutions to Thales Canada.

To learn more about why the Naval Technology Innovation Challenges were created, the sector it supports, and the winning companies, read the full press release linked below.

Click here to read the Naval Technology Innovation Challenges press release: Canadian companies provide next-gen naval maintenance and dockyard technology solutions – COVE Ocean.

In August of 2021, COVE and the German Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen capabilities in commercializing new technologies and create opportunities for collaboration focused on innovation and growth.

On Saturday, June 10, 2023, CEO of COVE, Melanie Nadeau, and the Minister for Science, Culture, Federal and European Affairs of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, Bettina Martin, signed an extension of the 2021 MOU to continue our partnership while expanding our global marine sector expertise, accelerating innovation with German marine technology leaders, and growing a robust workforce.

Click here to learn more about the MOU: COVE, GCE Ocean Technology, Ocean Innovation Norwegian Catapult Centre, and Subsea Monitoring Network sign MOU for global collaboration in ocean technology – COVE Ocean.

Deadline: 25 August 2023

The DIANA challenge program starts with a competitive call for proposals targeting three strategic focus areas: energy resilience, secure information sharing, and sensing and surveillance.

Derived from defence and security needs across the Alliance, informed by the state-of-development of commercial technologies, and designed for deep tech innovators – DIANA’s program seeks help in solving critical dual-use (civilian and defence) challenges.

Innovators who are accepted into the challenge will receive grant funding to support their technology development and demonstration, participate in a customized commercial and defence-focused accelerator program, gain access to test and evaluation resources across the Alliance, and benefit from curated exposure to investors and end users to support technology transition and adoption.

Click here for more information on the DIANA challenge program: DIANA | Challenges (nato.int).

Irving Shipbuilding is pleased to announce their $545,000 commitment to the Green Harbour Project by the Verschuren Centre in Sydney, Nova Scotia. The Green Harbour Project aims to make Halifax Harbour a net zero emitter by 2050, making it a leader in green technology.

The project will be tailored to each stakeholder’s decarbonization needs and monitor progress over time, with milestones at year 2030, 2040, and 2050.

As the project evolves, expect more news for stakeholder engagement.

Read more about the Green Harbour Project here: Irving Shipbuilding Invests in Green Harbour Project, Targeting Net Zero Emissions by 2050 – COVE Ocean.

June 21 was National Indigenous Peoples Day. COVE celebrates the partnerships that boost indigenous inclusion and innovation in Atlantic Canada’s marine sector.

Led by Ulnooweg Development Group Inc, and in partnership with COVE and Upswing Solutions, Samqwane’jk strengthens Atlantic Canada’s position as a hub for the innovative blue economy.

COVE also recognizes the work of Indigenous owned resident companies 3D Wave Design and Sma’knis Maritime Safety & Security Inc., as well as Miawpukek Horizon Maritime Services, all of which were also spotlighted at the H2O: Home to Overseas Conference where they presented their latest technologies.

Click here to learn more about the Sustainable Ocean Partnership: Home Page – Samqwane’jk Sustainable Ocean Partnerships – Ulnooweg (samqwanejk.com).

Deadline: 4 July 2023 | 5:00 p.m. ADT

Looking for an exciting career in a transformative and innovative sector? COVE is hiring a Site Technician to assist with onsite operations! If you take pride in maintaining high-quality standards, assisting with managing onsite activity, and building strong relationships with stakeholders, consider applying for the position.

The deadline to apply is July 4, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. ADT.

Click here for more information and to apply for the position: BambooHR.

Blue Lion Labs is a Canadian startup providing artificial intelligence analysis software for water quality issues with an initial focus on monitoring and predicting harmful algal blooms. Their solution, Plankton AI, uses computer vision and machine learning to automate slow, expensive, and inaccurate laboratory identification of environmental and biological threats such as sea lice and algae from images with faster, more accurate and higher quality analysis. Using a standard microscope, users image harmful organisms in the water and use the software to automatically analyze what is in there. This enables users to analyze data, providing meaningful results in minutes at a fraction of the cost. Their solution automates and transforms organism detection by being available 24 hours a day, standardizing analyses, and giving results in minutes.

The official visit of the President and First Lady of Iceland to Canada was packed with events that brought together leaders from diverse industries to explore opportunities for collaboration, share expertise, and foster meaningful relationships. In doing so, they showcased the power of collaboration, innovation, and empowerment in driving positive change.

On May 30, 2023, COVE was honoured to host the President of Iceland as well as Icelandic and local technology and marine companies for a roundtable on technology innovation and exploring opportunities for collaboration within the blue economy. Local participants included representatives from COVE, Acadian Seaplants, Clearwater Seafoods, Cooke Inc., and Innovasea, alongside Icelandic companies Marel and Kerecis, who all delivered insightful presentations.

Their visit is a follow up visit from September 2022, when the Icelandic trade delegation came to COVE to connect with and build business opportunities with Canadian seafood technology companies. We look forward to the future and the sea of opportunities that await our countries as we continue to explore opportunities in the blue economy.

Click here to read about the Icelandic trade delegation’s visit to COVE in September 2022: Supercooling technology for fish industry warms up business at Canada-Iceland trade show – COVE Ocean.

Invest Nova Scotia and Ocean Startup Project hosted their Start-Up Yard Business Over Breakfast panel on World Oceans Day, June 8, in Colin MacLean Hall at COVE. The event was offered to anyone interested in ocean and climate solutions and networking with leaders in the ocean technology ecosystem. The panel guests were Marciel Gaier with Graphite Innovations & Technologies, Moira Frier with Sedna Technologies, and Doug Jones with IGNITE, all of whom are innovators from the ocean sustainability and climate space who discussed the impact start-ups and communities can make on our climate in Nova Scotia and the world.

It was a successful event that was buzzing with discussion. COVE is honoured to be a hub for important discussions and events that focus on improving the state of our ocean and world through innovation, and we look forward to continuing to host similar events throughout the year and beyond.

Click here to read more about the panelists and the event: https://coveocean.com/event/business-over-breakfast-world-oceans-day/.

On June 8, COVE hosted the Commonwealth Study Conference, one of the world’s most dynamic leadership development experiences. Over the past 50 years, more than 8,000 young people have attended the international conference and its regional programs.

This year, the conference brought together exceptional young leaders from more than 35 nations across business, government, trade unions, and community sectors for an intensive two-week program. From June 6-14, study groups of 20 members explored each of Canada’s provinces and territories. Working together, the young professionals examined this year’s theme, “Engaged leadership for inclusive change”, using Canada as their classroom.

The objective of the Conference is to expose each member to new experiences, provoking arguments, and different perspectives, to significantly enhance the quality and comprehensiveness of their decision-making as leaders.

COVE hosted 15 conference participants for a lunch & learn about COVE as well as a site tour. The lunch & learn and tour was hosted by our Director of Strategic Partnerships, James Kesten, and our Director of Workforce Development, Tanya Lush, where the group learned about how COVE supports the development of early career professionals and talent attraction and development, and brings people, ideas, industry and research together to enable our community and members to develop new innovative products and services shaping the marine industry and the world. During the onsite tour, the group also had the opportunity to visit with Dartmouth Ocean Technologies, Leeway Marine, and COVE’s Stella Maris Testing Solution, taking a deeper dive into learning about each company’s innovative path towards marine technology excellence.