Seatrec

About Seatrec

Seatrec is a renewable energy company that develops and manufactures systems to generate electricity from temperature differences in the ocean. The company was founded in 2016 by CEO Dr. Yi Chao, a former NASA scientist, to commercialize technology that originated at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). Chao, who holds a Ph.D. in Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences from Princeton University, led the development of the core technology at JPL, which began with a prototype in 2009 called SOLO-TREC, the first underwater vehicle powered solely by the ocean's thermal energy.

Seatrec's patented technology utilizes Phase Change Materials (PCMs), which are substances that expand and contract when changing states, for instance from solid to liquid. As an underwater vehicle profiles the water column, moving from colder deep water to warmer surface water, the PCM melts and expands by about 10%. This expansion creates hydraulic pressure that drives a generator, producing electricity which is then stored in rechargeable batteries. This process allows for a continuous, virtually infinite power supply for submerged devices, removing the limitations of traditional batteries.

The company's primary market includes scientific research, defense, and commercial offshore industries within the 'Blue Economy'. Its products are designed to power autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) like profiling floats and gliders, which are critical for oceanographic data collection. By extending the operational life of these instruments and enabling them to carry more power-intensive sensors, Seatrec's technology facilitates more extensive and cost-effective data gathering on ocean temperature, salinity, seafloor mapping, and acoustics. This addresses a key bottleneck in ocean exploration, as conventional battery-powered floats have limited lifespans and costly recovery or replacement.

Seatrec's first commercial product, the SL1 thermal engine, was released in 2019. The company has since developed the infiniTE™ float, its flagship product, which is a fully integrated profiling float with the energy-harvesting system built-in. The infiniTE™ float can support a variety of sensors, including CTD (Conductivity, Temperature, Depth) sensors, hydrophones for acoustic monitoring, and echosounders for seafloor mapping. The company has established partnerships with organizations like Sea-Bird Scientific, having secured an exclusive license to manufacture their Navis float product line, and is working with the U.S. Navy.

Headquartered in Monrovia, California, the company has secured over $4.5 million in funding through a combination of seed rounds, debt financing, and government grants from investors including Pasadena Angels, Sunstone Management, and the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI).