Ocean Tech Hub can provide limitless opportunity for RI | Opinion

Elizabeth M. Tanner serves as Rhode Island’s Secretary of Commerce and previously served as director of the Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation. More on this effort can be found at oceantechnologyhub.com.  

The ocean is a vast reservoir of resources, and one of our state’s greatest assets. As a nation, we are just beginning to tap the potential of our oceans and the innovative opportunities that lie within it.  Rhode Island is on the brink of a transformative opportunity with our recent application to the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) for $64 million to fund the Ocean Tech Hub. If awarded these funds to advance the Ocean Tech Hub’s mission, the potential for long-term impact is limitless.

The global ocean economy, including marine trades, fishing and aquaculture, ports and shipping, defense, and renewable energy, generates over $2.5 trillion annually and is growing rapidly according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (2021). Over the next 10 years, ocean technology industries are poised to grow by nearly $300 billion. Critical advances in materials, electronics and artificial intelligence (AI) are fueling this growth, with much of these innovations happening right here in Rhode Island and Southeastern New England. Undersea robots, sensors, advanced materials, digital twins and information technology are shaping industries like global shipping and supply chain, telecommunications, defense and national security, and offshore wind. Funding from the EDA would catapult the Ocean Tech Hub to capture a significant share of this growing global market.

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Last year, the Biden Administration launched the Tech Hubs initiative, a key component of its strategy to stimulate technology innovation, economic growth and national security through the CHIPS and Science Act. Out of nearly 400 Phase 1 applications, the Ocean Tech Hub was named one of 31 Tech Hubs in the nation, the only Hub dedicated to undersea ocean technology. This designation is a national recognition of our regional leadership in this cutting-edge technology.

Through unprecedented collaboration with more than 20 regional partners from the private sector, academia, organized labor, and state and local governments, the Ocean Tech Hub Consortium, led by Rhode Island Commerce, proposed $64 million in Phase 2 to advance our work creating a unique, globally responsive and market driven hub for ocean technology. Our strategy is built on a networked framework activating regional assets to benefit water-based and dependent ocean technology. This includes connecting our seven commercial ports, world-class manufacturing and research facilities, an interstate commitment to commercializing ocean technology, and an ocean workforce of over 54,000 people – utilizing the deep expertise and resources we have in Rhode Island and throughout southern New England. This effort will create high-paying jobs throughout our state, aligning with Governor McKee’s plan to raise incomes for Rhode Islanders, in addition to rejuvenating our industrial knowledge base and stimulating local economies.

Accessing the enormous economic and environmental opportunities of our ocean resources hinges on us investing in ocean technology. Autonomous underwater vehicles, drones, and AI are pivotal in collecting marine ecosystem data amidst climate change while providing essential surveillance, reconnaissance, and defense services. Exploring the cutting-edge capabilities of undersea robots, which are transforming the management of underwater infrastructure, including floating and stable offshore wind platforms and seafloor cables, is essential. Developing state-of-the-art sensors, working together with sophisticated algorithms, enables the creation of comprehensive digital models of the ocean, allowing us to better protect our natural ecosystems. For all these reasons, the Ocean Tech Hub is so important to our state.   We have made it to this point thanks to our many dedicated partners and supporters including the unwavering support of Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, Congressmen Seth Magaziner and Gabe Amo, and Governor McKee.

In that same vein, I urge all Rhode Islanders, including those who would directly benefit from this once-in-a-lifetime economic opportunity, to champion this initiative. We can make Rhode Island and this region a global hotspot for ocean technology. It’s at our fingertips. After all, we ARE the Ocean State.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: The global ocean economy, including fishing, aquaculture, ports, shipping, defense, and renewable energy, generates $2.5 trillion annually.