Winner Selection Process

Ocean Exchange’s call for solutions for our three major awards opens each spring, typically in may, and are accepted through a specified date in august. In 2023, more than 175 nominations were received from countries around the world.

The Ocean Exchange Solutions Review Team evaluates the applications and narrows the field to 50 semi-finalists and then to 15 finalists who travel to the Ocean Exchange event to present their solution in person. All finalists companies meet the required Technology Readiness Level (TRL), a method used to measure and assess the maturity of a particular technology. Ocean Exchange also provides a description of the five levels of innovation as part of the Ocean Exchange Award nomination process.

Each finalist for the 2x Neptune Awards and the Wallenius Wilhelmsen Orcelle® Award makes a fifteen-minute presentation to Delegates attending the event, followed by questions from members of the Solutions Review Team. On the final day of the event, each finalist delivers a summary of his/her presentation in a Lightning Round. The Delegates, representing business, academia, government, and non-profits, select the three monetary winners based on their presentations at Ocean Exchange.

Awards were conferred at the conclusion of Ocean Exchange 2023.

Ocean Exchange Profile of Applicants from 2011-2023:

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Ocean Exchange invites you to learn more about Awards Program, our ecosystem and success of our award winners and participants. Together, we can chart a powerful course to help ensure the future of our oceans and the Blue Economy.

“Ocean Exchange has a platform to enable people with information that they need to know about the ocean and then to showcase new technologies that are on the forefront of really helping the ocean and the planet.”

“The quality of the content and the people who are involved with Ocean Exchange is all high end.”

“Besides funding, Ocean Exchange provides access to a wide area network of incredibly talented people in organizations that really do just want to help people.”

“Ocean Exchange is really about helping the little guys grow and in so doing, helping the big guys be better ocean citizens.”

“Ocean Exchange seems to be much more focused on bringing to light under-capitalized, wonderful new technology ideas. And it’s all about two-way access to this new technology and to the people who can help with the experience to grow that technology.”

“Ocean Exchange is a force multiplier to enable sustainable innovation.”

“Ocean Exchange is a global, novel innovation forum that has a greater ability to attract a broader range of impactful stakeholders than any other event that’s out there.”

“Unquestionably, one of Ocean Exchange’s primary strengths is how it brings together people from different paths. That makes its event a delegator experience as well as experience for an innovator or awards nominee.”

“Ocean Exchange is entirely different from any of the other organizations that I’m involved in. It is about sustainable innovation. I think it’s also very different in the extremely broad range of stakeholders that it involves.”

“There’s nothing better than going to an event or engaging with people so you walk away and say, ‘Wow!’”