Each year, our friends at CTVC release the iconic “climate market map”—a crisp snapshot of where innovation and capital are flowing across seven key sectors: Energy, Transportation, Food and Ag, Industry, Built Environment, Carbon, and Climate Risk. It’s a roadmap for founders, funders, and policymakers navigating the fast-moving world of climate tech. But climate is redefining these industries. The lines between sectors are fading, the tech is more advanced, and one critical resource is still flying under the radar: the ocean.

In part one of this series, I explored how we're rethinking sources of ocean energy — from thermal gradients to nuclear SMRs to currents. But understanding energy in the ocean means looking at both sides of the equation. This time, I want to talk about uses: where energy is being consumed in ocean and coastal environments today, where demand is shifting, and where new opportunities are emerging. Because reimagining energy infrastructure only matters if it maps to real demand. And in the ocean, that demand is not only changing — it’s being reshaped by concerns about energy security and shifting cost curves.

When most people think of energy from the ocean, four primary sources typically come to mind: offshore wind, offshore oil and gas, wave, and tidal power. And for good reason — these are the legacy sectors that have absorbed decades of capital and engineering focus.

“In the ocean, no two waves are the same, and no two days are the same.” Wise words from professional big-wave surfer Greg Long and that was just one of many lessons learned from a life in the ocean that are extremely relatable for what it means to be a leader in today’s climate. Greg went on to discuss risk-taking, ego, near-death and resurrection, and how he now acts with greater intention in and out of the water. So many gems in there for all of us to relate to… I’m still reflecting on his talk, my time at SF Climate Week – and the tone and tenor of the broader #climatetech ecosystem – but above all, it was a real privilege to co-host this discussion on behalf of Propeller and in collaboration with my friend Scott Atkinson and his team at Heidrick & Struggles. It is so special and so rare to gather together with such a great crew of smart, committed founders, investors, and operators working toward a collective planetary good. Thank you again to our excellent panelists for your insights and inspiration -- Founders Panel: Kelly Zheng of hum.ai, Jess Adkins of Calcarea, and Stuart Landesberg of Grove Collaborative. Investor Panel: Colin le Duc of Generation Investment Management, Saloni Multani of Galvanize, Suzanne DiBianca of Salesforce, and Steven Mandel of TPG Rise Climate. And most importantly, thank you to all who attended. Time is precious, and we’re grateful to the folks who spent some of their time with us last week. We hope you’re all back at it this week, as inspired as I was from the discussion.

Inspired. That’s the feeling we get from working closely with a room full of ambitious, climate-tech entrepreneurs during our most recent Ocean MBA.

In the last 60 years, natural disasters, driven by climate change, are punishing coastlines at a far greater rate than inland disasters (see graph). Furthermore, the extremes of these events will worsen and may likely increase in frequency. Not to mention the fact that 40% of the world’s population lives in, commutes through, works around, and is otherwise part of this impact zone.

Here’s a quick profile on how we invest at Propeller for founders seeking funding or for investors seeking to syndicate with us. Note: We’re speaking generally here. We sometimes draw outside the lines.

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) has been a hot topic lately, as many sustainability experts look beyond reducing greenhouse gas emissions for mitigating climate change.

Today we are proud to announce our first fund of $100 million [press release],committed to innovators building scalable companies that tackle the climate crisis with science-led solutions. Our mission is to leverage and protect our planet’s greatest asset, the ocean. Propeller will accelerate the science, innovations, and solutions that can mitigate the worst effects of climate change. The ocean is critical to reducing emissions and drawing down carbon dioxide, and few know this as well as our friends and partners at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). As WHOI’s president and director, Peter deMenocal, once put it to us, “You simply can’t get there without the ocean.”

Propeller's Ocean MBA - a three day mini MBA for ocean-entrepreneurs - kicked off in June 2022 with a stellar cohort of founders, and daily guest speakers on startups, and scaling innovation.