March 4, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Montreal, QC) – Today Canada’s Ocean Supercluster announced the $4.1 million AI-powered Monitoring for Sustainable Wave-powered Desalination Project led by Oneka Technologies.
This project aims to accelerate the commercialization and AI-enablement of Canadian ocean hardware platforms to support the global scaleup of sustainable wave-powered desalination solutions. This helps expand access to reliable freshwater, and address global challenges including water scarcity, climate change, and environmental sustainability.
The project is led by Sherbrooke, QC-based Oneka Technologies, in partnership with Ocean Sonics in Truro Heights, NS, Innovobot Labs in Montreal, QC, and Lengkeek Vessel Engineering in Dartmouth, NS. With a total project value of $4.1 million, Canada’s Ocean Supercluster is investing $1.6 million, with the balance of funding coming from project partners.
The AI-Powered Monitoring for Sustainable Wave-Powered Desalination Project will advance the understanding of how diverse marine assets and ocean datasets can be jointly leveraged to reduce in-ocean operational issues and costs, and to better understand how low carbon desalination solutions interact with their surrounding coastal environment. The result will be the world’s first commercial scale, long term demonstration of a wave-powered desalination system that delivers fresh water to end users, and enhanced AI-driven acoustic and IoT monitoring capabilities for multiple offshore sectors.
This cross-provincial partnership strengthens national priorities to build one Canadian economy, while advancing Canada’s global leadership in ocean innovation and the sustainable, low-carbon development of our oceans.
Through Ambition 2035 and together with Canada’s ocean community, we are bold in our ambition to grow Canada’s ocean economy 5X to $220 billion by 2035. Continued investment in the accelerated development and commercialization of globally relevant, made in Canada ocean solutions will help us realize this ambition. Read more about recommendations to help achieve this transformational growth opportunity outlined in Charting the Course to 5X Growth in Canada’s Ocean Economy and the projected benefits to Canada here.
-30-
Media Contacts
Nancy Andrews
Canada’s Ocean Supercluster
nancy.andrews@oceansupercluster.ca
About Canada’s Ocean Supercluster
Canada’s Ocean Supercluster accelerates the development and commercialization of made-in-Canada ocean solutions in energy transition, food security, future of transport, and climate change while also growing more companies, creating more jobs, and attracting ocean talent. As Canada’s national ocean cluster, the OSC is a convenor of members, partners, and networks and a catalyst for transformative growth that helps build the robust ecosystem needed to help realize Ambition 2035 – a 5X growth potential in ocean in Canada by 2035. To date, the OSC has approved over 150 projects valued at more than $600 million, which will deliver more than 300 new made-in-Canada ocean products, processes, and services to sell to the world. Every dollar invested in Ocean Supercluster projects generates more than five times its value in GDP contribution, with the following economic benefits to Canada to date:
- $1.7 billion in total economic output
- $1 billion in GDP contribution
- Nearly $748 million in total labour income
- ️Close to 10,000 jobs created
- $286 million in total tax revenues generated
Quotes
“This project is a powerful example of how Canada can deliver sustainable ocean solutions for some of the world’s most urgent challenges, while generating economic prosperity across the country. By accelerating the development of Canadian ocean AI solutions, we are strengthening global competitiveness and becoming a leader in the commercialization of ocean technologies.” – Kendra MacDonald, CEO, Canada’s Ocean Supercluster
“We are thrilled to collaborate with these exceptional Canadian partners on a project that will accelerate the commercialization of our sustainable desalination technology and optimize the maintenance of our systems. By integrating their unique, cutting-edge expertise, we will not only solidify our competitive advantage, but also provide comprehensive environmental impact data to facilitate permitting and demonstrate our commitment to be in synergy with ocean marine life.” – Dragan Tutic, CEO & Founder, Oneka Technologies
“At Innovobot, we see smart technologies as catalysts for a thriving and resilient ocean economy” says Michel Dubois, Head of AI Lab, Innovobot. “Together with Oneka Technologies and Canada’s Ocean Supercluster, we are leveraging the latest multimodal AI to reduce maintenance costs and help protect marine life. This project shows how innovation and ocean stewardship can move forward together.”
