A new initiative gives Gulf Coast startups a direct way to present their technology to the US Navy — and, potentially, turn those pitches into contracts.
Launched in late June, the Gulf Coast Defense Catalyst (GCDC) aims to bring together the region’s entrepreneurs, businesses and universities that best address the Navy’s most pressing challenges.
The potential upside is huge, said Evie Poitevent Sanders, vice president of innovation and entrepreneurship at GNO, Inc.
“Formal partnerships with [Naval Information Warfare Center] Atlantic and the three other Gulf Coast naval commands present an unparalleled opportunity to drive new tech,” Poitevent Sanders told Technical.ly, “while supporting and growing our startups, established industry partners and academic institutions.”
(Nafeesa Saboor for Technical.ly)
GNO’s Greater New Orleans Development Foundation serves as the partnership’s liaison to help the participating military officials identify and connect with the private sector. Other partners on the effort include the NIWC Atlantic; Commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (CNMOC); Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division (NSWC PCD); and the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL).
Software, cybersecurity and blue tech companies can participate, ranging from underwater mining and surveillance to lidar and geophysical technology.
Startups that want to tap into military defense dollars can find out more at the Industry Innovation Day on Sept. 2., featuring panel discussions, demonstrations and networking with a specific focus on low-cost maritime sensors that can be deployed and replaced as needed.
Defense contracts could be ‘transformational’ for local entrepreneurs
Helios Industries’ Solar Wing is a mobile solar system that can be set up quickly. Its creators believe it would best suit CNMOC’s meteorological and oceanographic surveillance and prediction needs.
“Our technology has the potential to provide reliable backup power at shore facilities as well as forward area power for remote sensor networks or drone recharging,” Mason Babin, the company’s chief product officer, said.
Johnnie James II sees a defense application for his business, REEFBUDS.
The company offers a natural system that captures carbon, protects and restores coastlines, and offers real-time ocean data.
James feels a contract through GCDC would be “transformational” for REEFBUDS in that it would create a larger market for the company’s plant-based concrete material and signal its legitimacy as a viable option for military applications and beyond.
GCDC projects that the program could create 500 to 1,000 jobs through NIWC contracts, transform Louisiana State University’s New Orleans Research and Technology Park into a defense innovation hub and broaden venture capital funding to include defense and advanced technology projects.
“This significantly accelerates our ability to serve the military as well as enter commercial markets, such as disaster response,” said Babin, of Helios, “where many of the core features that make our technology valuable for defense applications also help to protect lives and livelihoods after storms along the Gulf Coast.”
