After reviewing 136 entries from 41 countries, the panel of experts selected the 10 finalists who presented their solutions today at Leonard:Paris.
At the end of the presentations, three prizes were awarded to the best solutions, as well as three special prizes for a solution dedicated to marine biodiversity, a bio-inspired solution and a start-up.
1st – Paradoxal Surfboards replaces petroleum in surfboard core manufacture with stranded green algae.
2nd – Ecoenvironment uses innovative plastic extrusion technology to convert plastic collected from the ocean into paving slabs and bricks.
3rd – Vlinder accelerates blue carbon projects (focusing on mangrove restoration), provides early-stage financing, and supports these projects to make them investable.
The “solution for marine biodiversity” special prize – Pinovo develops a dust-free abrasive vacuum blasting alternative to traditional polluting surface treatment methods.
The “bioinspired solution” special prize – Enereef, an optimized artificial reef designed to promote the growth of marine life and enhance biodiversity, specifically tailored for the base of offshore wind turbines.
The “early stage” special prize – Tontoton trains local plastic collection teams and creates an internal processing chain to recover, recycle, and/or reuse plastic waste.
We congratulate all the finalists who have developed economically viable solutions for the protection of the oceans. Many thanks to Sustainable Ocean Alliance and Respect Ocean for creating this inspiring challenge!
