Global ocean carbon removal Running Tide has been selected, along with six other startups, to participate in the twelfth cohort of the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN2) and will receive up to $250,000 in non-dilutive funding to conduct underwater phenotyping, according to a company statement published Tuesday.
Running Tide will carry out technical assistance and field trial projects at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, Missouri, described as the world’s largest independent plant science research institute.
The funding will advance macroalgae quantification efforts, helping Running Tide progress in its understanding of — and ultimately verifying — macroalgae growth, and thus carbon sequestration, in open ocean systems.
For this foundational research, Running Tide will partner with experts at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center to improve open-source computer vision software, which would help to better quantify macroalgae growth under various oceanic conditions using different imaging modalities.
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Dr. Rishi Masalia, Vice President of Biotechnology at Running Tide, highlighted the importance of joining forces with other organizations to help solve what he called “the biggest challenge of our lifetimes”.
According to the statement, such high-throughput phenotyping in aquaculture as what Running Tide will be advancing with the support from IN2 is “effectively non-existent in the world today”. The current project is, therefore, seen as a significant first step forward in this untapped sector.
The IN2 is a technology incubator and platform, funded by the Wells Fargo Foundation and co-administered by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
In its twelfth cohort, it will support seven companies working to mitigate climate change and adapt to its impacts via agricultural solutions, which underwent an in-depth selection process by Wells Fargo, NREL, the Danforth Center, and IN2’s expert industry advisory board.
Since its launch in 2014, IN2’s portfolio has grown to include a total 72 companies in the areas of commercial building, affordable housing, and sustainable agriculture.
Read more: Running Tide Publishes Framework Protocol For Open Ocean Carbon Removal
