This past week, VoltSafe’s CTO, Sanad Aridah, returned to California to meet with the San Diego Port Authority and to participate in IGNITE 22. IGNITE 22, hosted by Braid Theory, is an event held at AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles where entrepreneurs, innovators, and future thinkers come together to network & explore the bluetech industry.  Invited by Zaib Shaikh, Consul General of Canada in Los Angeles, VoltSafe was 1 of 10 cleantech and oceantech companies to participate at the event on May 2, 2024. The goal of IGNITE 22 is to deepen collaboration within the blue tech industry.

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The blue tech industry, a rapidly growing sector of the maritime industry, focuses on advanced technology that propels sustainable innovation within the emerging blue economy. The blue economy consists of economic activities that are connected to our oceans, seas, and coastlines. The aim is to balance economic growth with environmental preservation through sustainable practices. Since oceans cover 71% of the Earth’s surface, the number of sectors generated from the blue economy is continuously growing. Sectors like ocean exploration, conservation and monitoring, offshore energy production, ocean renewables, oil spill detection, coastal tourism, maritime debris cleanup, maritime transportation, trade, water treatment and current leakage detection.

The blue economy represents huge market potential for VoltSafe Marine. The marine industry significantly contributes to the economy of California. With over 600 boatyards, marinas and yacht clubs, California is one of the top 10 boating states in the US, with recreational boating bringing a whopping $13B USD annually to California’s economy.  A staggering 95% of boats sold in the US are also made in the US, with 93% of boat manufacturers being small businesses.  In California, the boating sector alone supports over 41,000 jobs and over 2,800 businesses in the state. That would support the 700,000+ boats registered in California. If that number sounds surprising, then learning that  the majority of US boat owners' annual household incomes fall below $75,000 should reveal how the self-sustaining  economy has managed to keep boating accessible for such a large number of the population.

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The shift to a more sustainable approach for this bustling economy means that players in the marine sector will be looking to VoltSafe for solutions to upgrade their docks, marinas and ports. VoltSafe Marine will offer marinas the ability to operate both efficiently and sustainably. VoltSafe Marine’s marina dashboard will allow operators to log repairs and maintenance work and bill and collect payments on a cloud based platform. VoltSafe Marine’s shore power pedestal will also help reduce shore power hazards which currently have devastating effects on the surrounding environmental ecosystems. 

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The marina operators that Sanad spoke to confirmed the need for real-time automatic billing. Since Voltsafe Marine’s system is cloud-based, automatic billing and payment collection will occur within minutes rather than days. The other advantage of the VoltSafe Marine system is the ability to shut off power to the pedestal remotely. Marinas operators were also excited about this feature. Currently they have to walk down to the pedestal to shut the power off. In cases of overheating and a potential fire, time is of the essence and being able to shut off power to a pedestal that is sitting at the furthest end of a dock will limit damage. The companion boat owner app will allow boaters to update their information, pay a bill, as well as communicate and provide information to the marina operator via the companion app rather than having to go into the marina office to complete paperwork. 

The growing blue economy along with the investments into the blue tech industry is exciting for VoltSafe. We look forward to the meetings and partnerships to follow our visit to California  and IGNITE. Up next, our VoltSafe crew will be heading to Florida - the largest boating state in the USA - for IBEX (International BoatBuilders’ Exhibition & Conference) from October 1st to 3rd. Check out our EVENTS page to see where VoltSafe is navigating its way to next for an event or show near you. You can also follow us on LinkedIn or Instagram too, for our latest updates. If you would like to invest in VoltSafe, visit invest@voltsafe.com

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