Port of San Diego’s Blue Economy Incubator Grows to 12 Companies with VoltSafe Inc.

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The Port of San Diego Board of Port Commissioners has approved a one-year pilot project for $250,000 with VoltSafe Inc. through its Blue Economy Incubator (BEI). As a leader of the region’s blue economy, the Port of San Diego established its Blue Economy Incubator in 2016 as a launching pad for sustainable, ocean-based technology ventures. This latest addition marks the 12th pilot project launched by the BEI since its inception and is another bold step toward building a resilient, sustainable and innovative blue economy that serves the San Diego region by creating a new pipeline of ocean-positive businesses.

VoltSafe is an electrification startup bringing next-generation marina shore power and smart marina technology to San Diego Bay. VoltSafe aims to make the Port’s marinas safer and more efficient with their new shore power system that ditches the traditional pronged plug and replaces it with a magnetic connection. Magnetic technology reduces the risk of electrical shocks, corrosion, and other hazards that come with water and power mixing. The system also comes with smart software that gives marina operators a real-time look at what’s happening at each slip – from power usage and disconnections to leaks and peak demand.

“Innovation doesn’t happen in isolation, it’s powered by people with vision, creativity and courage to challenge the status quo,” said Chair Danielle Moore, Port of San Diego Board of Port Commissioners. “Through our Blue Economy Incubator, the Port of San Diego is proud to support forward-thinking entrepreneurs who are turning bold ideas into real-world solutions and creating a more sustainable waterfront for all.”

"The Port of San Diego’s Blue Economy Incubator is a global first, and partnering with them signals more than a milestone, it’s proof that VoltSafe’s patented shore power hardware and SaaS platform isn’t just raising the bar, it’s rewriting the standard,” said Trevor Burgess, CEO & Co-Founder of VoltSafe. “Legacy solutions can’t deliver the environmental, economic, and social returns we can. As the marine industry races toward smarter, low-carbon infrastructure, this collaboration positions VoltSafe at the center of that transformation. Together with the Port’s forward-thinking team, we’re not just keeping pace with change, we’re driving it and scaling it, across the global waterfront economy.”

To date, the Board of Port Commissioners has approved 12 agreements with early-stage companies, including one re-investment, to launch innovative pilot projects, four of which have been completed. Aside from the newest addition to the BEI, the following are active BEI projects:

• MarineLabs: MarineLabs is a scale-up coastal intelligence company specializing in providing real-time coastal domain awareness and climate resilience data from sensor nodes that can help the Port make informed decisions about its coastal resilience projects and operations. MarineLabs’ technology focuses on providing persistent wave, wind, and wake data above the water’s surface and complements another BEI company, HyperKelp, whose buoy platforms collect data on underwater noise and water chemistry. This company’s pilot project was approved by the Board in May 2025.
• HyperKelp Inc: HyperKelp is an early-stage company specializing in the custom development of smart buoy platforms (known as Kelp Smart Buoy). The buoy platforms can collect and aggregate underwater data in near real-time and display results on an online dashboard. This technology monitors underwater noise levels, atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, and water quality. This project has earned local and national news coverage including a segment on Spectrum News 1.
• FREDsense: In 2021, the Port approved FREDsense Technologies for a pilot project to develop a portable five-in-one field-testing sensor device to provide near real-time metals analysis for stormwater monitoring. Under the pilot, FREDsense is developing a prototype to demonstrate the feasibility of automatically testing levels of aluminum, copper, lead, zinc, and nickel – all of which are of importance for stormwater compliance monitoring.
• Sunken Seaweed: Sunken Seaweed, an aquaculture start-up company led by two marine ecologists, joined the Port’s BEI to demonstrate the feasibility of seaweed aquaculture in San Diego Bay. Sunken Seaweed established a seaweed hatchery at San Diego State University’s Coastal and Marine Institute Laboratory and installed their submerged seaweed pilot farm using Port docks and piers. Since 2018, the company has been successfully cultivating, out planting, growing, monitoring, and harvesting several species of seaweed native to Southern California. Beyond commercialization, results from the pilot project help assess and quantify seaweed aquaculture’s multiple co-benefits, from carbon sequestration and bioremediation to improving water quality and ecosystem productivity. In 2022, the Port reinvested in an expansion of Sunken Seaweed's pilot which enables the company to build and continue its research in San Diego Bay, while expanding operations to Humboldt Bay where they benefit from shoreside facilities to help them reach market scale. This project was featured in the TODAY Show’s Earth Week coverage for NBC Climate in April 2023.
• San Diego Bay Aquaculture: Since 2017, San Diego Bay Aquaculture is testing if a shellfish nursery, called a FLUPSY (Floating Upweller System), can be effective in helping address a coast-wide shellfish seed shortage. The FLUPSY is a floating barge that circulates water through compartments or bins holding shellfish, in this case oysters, as they grow from about the size of a red pepper flake to about the size of a quarter. After being in the FLUPSY, the shellfish are transported to a farm where they grow to market size. The project was one of two BEI projects featured in the TODAY Show’s Earth Week coverage for NBC Climate.

The Port of San Diego is committed to the development of a sustainable ocean economy and to exploring new opportunities that deliver multiple social, environmental, and economic co-benefits to the Port and the region. In exchange for funding or in-kind support provided to launch the pilot projects, the Port receives royalty from the businesses’ operations or technology. To date, the Port has committed $2.35 million in funding, has attracted millions in outside funding including federal and state dollars for blue economy initiatives, provided access and use of Port-owned property, and assisted with obtaining all necessary regulatory and operational permits, coordinated the installation of pilot projects, and collaborated on marketing and communications.
 
Throughout the program, the Port has received multiple awards recognizing its unique approach to Port-based blue economy innovation through pilot project facilitation and has been recognized by state and federal agencies, industry, and academia for providing pathways for the sustainable development of aquaculture and blue technology in the region. Learn more about the Port of San Diego’s Blue Economy Incubator and read the latest highlights report at portofsandiego.org/blueeconomy.