Partner in Venture to Use Solar Power to Help Restore Oyster Population
Why EcoLogix Group was engaged:
Working with our partners at the Maritime Applied Physics Corporation, the idea was hatched. Could solar energy power an automated, high density floating oyster production platform? The Solar Oyster Production System is a novel, innovative technology with the potential to provide much-needed automation to the growing shellfish aquaculture industry as well as produce large quantities of oysters to aid in replenishing native oyster populations. This technology could help Maryland meet its nitrogen reduction goal in the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint, in which the EPA has mandated that Maryland must show progress by 2025 to remain on target. The technology can generate nutrient credits as well as a sustainable food source, all powered by solar energy.
How EcoLogix Group Responded:
EcoLogix Group, in a joint venture with Maritime Applied Physics Corporation, launched Solar Oysters, LLC to make the dream become reality. The concept received initial support from a partnership with the University of MD Center for Environmental Science’s Chesapeake Biological Laboratory as part of a Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) grant. In October 2021, with funding from the Abell Foundation, Solar Oysters entered a new partnership with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Chesapeake Oyster Alliance to introduce oyster spat on the platform.
Watch our presentation to the 113th Annual Meeting of the National Shellfisheries Association to learn more!
Outcome:
The venture has been advanced by a Maryland Industrial Partnership grant with the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. Solar Oysters LLC was chosen to participate in the F3 Tech Accelerator Program. This has resulted in broad media attention in outlets such as The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, WBAL-TV, WTOP Radio, Chesapeake Bay Magazine, and the Zero Waste Countdown Podcast, among others. The innovative team that makes up Solar Oysters, LLC welcomes inquiries. For more information, visit www.solaroysters.com.
CONTACT:
Steve Pattison