From carbon capture to PFAS destruction, from flood intelligence to cultivated seafood, the 2025 Katapult Ocean cohort aligns environmental gains with durable business models. As regulatory and market pressures rise, these founders are advancing an impact-as-a-service blueprint—demonstrating that measurable ocean impact and commercial performance can scale together.
Oslo — October 2, 2025. Katapult Ocean has launched its 8th Accelerator Cohort, assembling 13 pioneering companies that the firm describes as its most technically advanced and commercially mature to date—IP-rich, science-driven ventures already piloted and validated with global customers and partners. The three-month program provides direct investment, tailored workshops, intensive leadership development, and access to a world-class networkof mentors, customers, and investors—devoting roughly a third of the curriculum to impact strategy, measurement, and ESG.
RELEVANT SUSTAINABLE GOALS
System-Changing Science Meets Market Readiness
“The ocean economy is at an inflection point,” Katapult Ocean notes, citing mounting climate regulation, supply-chain vulnerabilities, and environmental degradation. “The Katapult Ocean team reviewed a record number of companies for this year’s cohort, and we’re thrilled with the result,” said Ross Brooks, General Partner at Katapult Ocean. “This year’s cohort brings together a diverse group of founders leveraging everything from molecular engineering and AI-guided automation to nature-based innovation — all with the clear aim of scaling solutions that drive impact without sacrificing economic performance.”
For decades, many environmental solutions lacked business models that could scale. The 2025 cohort counters that trend—average valuation €25 million—with a global mix focused on blue food, water, sustainable transportation, and circular resources.
“What emerges from this varied collection of companies is a coherent investment thesis around what might be called ‘impact-as-a-service,’” said Anthony Bellafiore, Investment Manager at Katapult Ocean. “Rather than asking customers to choose between profitability and sustainability, these companies generate revenue directly from their environmental benefits: captured methane becomes energy, PFAS destruction clears regulatory liabilities, flood intelligence reduces downtime and enables new insurance models, algae-based materials improve product performance while reducing environmental risk.”
A Systems-Level Approach to Ocean Health
The portfolio moves beyond isolated fixes to systems-level change, recognizing that improvements in plastics, fuels, and manufacturing can ripple across marine ecosystems. Some companies operate directly in marine environments; others transform adjacent industries with significant indirect impacts on ocean health. As regulatory demands intensify, the founders aim to show that environmental responsibility and economic growth can—and must—advance together.
Since 2018, Katapult Ocean has accelerated over 90 companies across maritime decarbonization, aquaculture and food systems, renewable ocean energy, circular materials, and ocean data and robotics. Over the next three months, the 2025 cohort engages in the accelerator’s award-winning program, pairing capital with tailored mentorship and a structured focus on impact management alongside commercial growth.
Meet the 2025 Katapult Ocean Cohort
The Molecules That Will Move the Maritime Sector
- Ammobia (US) — Re-architecting ammonia production with a modular, dynamic process driven by breakthrough Active Materials, cutting temperature, pressure, capital costs, and energy use. Plants can be sited near end-users or as large facilities using any hydrogen source—positioned to decarbonize a chemical responsible for 2% of global emissions today, and an additional 3% by replacing fossil fuels in shipping and industry.
- Brineworks (Netherlands) — Making ultra-low-cost Direct Air Capture viable via a breakthrough electrolyzerthat runs flexibly on intermittent renewables to produce CO₂ and hydrogen at very low cost—supporting carbon removal and a pathway to e-fuels for aviation and maritime.
Water: The Resource That Connects Everything
- Bluemethane (UK) — Captures methane from liquid waste streams, preventing emissions while turning a hidden liability into a valuable energy resource, cutting costs and environmental impact.
- Aquaria (US) — Atmospheric water generation at point-of-use: modular, stackable units that harvest humidity to produce thousands of gallons of drinking water monthly—no pipelines, no heavy construction—decentralizing supply and preserving groundwater.
- Hohonu (US) — Solar-powered water-level sensors and predictive dashboards deliver hyperlocal flood intelligence to emergency managers and planners, protecting infrastructure and building coastal resilience.
Solving Pollution at the Molecular Level
- Birch Biosciences (US) — AI-designed enzymes to depolymerize PET into high-quality precursors, enabling true closed-loop plastic recycling at a smaller footprint than mechanical, thermal, or chemical alternatives.
- Aquagga (US) — HALT (hydrothermal alkaline treatment) permanently destroys PFAS at the source with no harmful byproducts, replacing incineration and landfilling to secure clean drinking water.
Nature-Derived Performance
- Soarce (US) — Seaweed-based nanocellulose coatings and additives that make composite parts stronger, lighter, and cheaper, improving bonding and enabling recycled or lower-cost fibers while replacing fossil-based chemistries.
- Living Ink Technologies (US) — Algae Black™ turns discarded algae into a carbon-negative pigment, diverting landfill emissions and reducing petroleum use—already applied in packaging, apparel, paints, and cosmetics.
Restoration That Scales
- Archireef (Abu Dhabi) — 3D-printed Reef Tiles and Eco-Seawall Panels restore marine habitats; data-driven monitoring creates an auditable trail linking funding to ecological outcomes, enabling biodiversity credits and outcome-linked contracts.
- Clearbot (Hong Kong) — AI-guided, all-electric autonomous boats remove floating debris and invasive vegetation, integrating with solar charging for autonomous operation and real-time waste data.
Sustainable Ocean Harvest and Land-Based Alternatives
- Healthy Seaweed Co. (Tanzania) — Elevates seaweed as a certified superfood, paying women farmers above traditional rates while producing gels, sauces, and powders for local and global markets—linking health, equity, and climate resilience.
- Atlantic Fish Co. (US) — Cultivated seafood via the Aptura platform for scalable muscle production in suspension—delivering premium protein without depleted fisheries or long supply chains, protecting ocean ecosystems.
With an average valuation of €25 million, the vast majority of participating companies are preparing to scale implemented solutions with customers worldwide. The portfolio spans four continents, concentrating on blue food, water, sustainable transportation, and circular resource solutions—a blueprint for the next era where profit and a thriving ocean are fundamentally linked.
Katapult Ocean is the world’s most active ocean impact venture fund manager, headquartered in Oslo, Norway. It invests in and accelerates companies globally that restore ocean health, combat climate and biodiversity loss, and ensure access to sustainable food and clean water. The firm is a founding member of the 1000 Ocean Startups Coalition, recognized as a Top Innovative Fund by the World Economic Forum and Uplink, with an accelerator program nominated as the world’s best by the Global Startup Awards. In 2025, Katapult Ocean expanded its footprint by establishing an office in Singapore and launching an Asia ocean fund in partnership with OCTAVE Capital.
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