A Small Business in Montana Just Won $1.5 Million for Ocean Health Technology As carbon dioxide is burned to fuel our lives, a percentage of that carbon ends up in the world's oceans. The first step in fixing the problem is being able to accurately measure it. That's what Sunburst Sensors is doing.
By Catherine Clifford •
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A small business in the landlocked state of Montana just won a big award for developing reliable, cost-effective technology to monitor the health of our oceans.
Missoula, Mont.-based Sunburst Sensors won $1.5 million last night for its pH sensors, which measure ocean acidification. Acidification is a problem; as we burn coal for energy, a portion of the carbon released into the atmosphere ends up in our oceans, changing the chemical conditions of the oceans and threatening their stability. Scientists generally rely on sensors to test pH and monitor ocean health. Sunburst's sensors are 10 to 15 times cheaper to manufacture than others of their kind, and just as accurate.
The $1.5 million prize came in the form of two first-place awards: one for accuracy and another for affordability. The competition was managed by innovation organization XPRIZE and funded by Wendy Schmidt, wife of Google's Eric Schmidt and president of The Schmidt Family Foundation, which invests in clean technology.
Related: Exploring the Deep Ocean With Underwater Robots
"I am delighted that the innovations coming out of this competition will meet the needs of scientists helping us to understand better how connected our life is to the health of the ocean," said Schmidt in a statement.
A total of $2 million in prize money was distributed among the competition's five finalists.
To learn more about the issue of ocean acidification and the competition, have a look at the video below.
Related: This Startup Wants to Reverse the Tide on Our Overfished Oceans
