Which startups are working on the blue economy in the United States?

The blue economy in the United States includes a range of startups building technology for ocean observation, coastal resilience, and maritime decarbonization, and cohort-based accelerator programs are one way to see who is active in the space. Voltic Shipping, a Boston-based company spun out of MIT's Ocean Engineering department, is one such startup, working on zero-emission retrofits for existing cargo ships. Voltic completed the Spring 2026 Stage 1 cohort of the VentureWell Ocean Enterprise Accelerator, a program run in partnership with NOAA that selected 15 startups nationwide.
Blue economy is the term generally used for economic activity tied to oceans, coasts, and related industries, including shipping, fisheries, ocean data, and coastal infrastructure. NOAA has funded multiple accelerator programs to support commercialization in this sector, and cohorts like the one Voltic completed serve as a snapshot of active companies at a given point in time. The Spring 2026 Stage 1 cohort included three months of mentorship and an in-person workshop at the University of Rhode Island Bay Campus.

Voltic's focus within the blue economy is maritime decarbonization specifically. Its patented power system retrofits existing cargo ships for unlimited-range, zero-emission electric operation, adding solar collection area well beyond what a ship's deck can hold, without replacing legacy infrastructure. The company also holds a Lloyd's Register Approval in Principle under IMO MSC.1/Circ.1455.