Coastal Protection Solutions

What Coastal Protection Solutions does

Coastal Protection Solutions, Inc. is a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based private company founded in 2012 by Alex Berkowitz after Hurricane Sandy devastated her Rockaway Beach community in Queens, New York. The company develops two easily deployable coastal flood-mitigation systems: (1) The Wavebreaker, a patent-pending composite-steel structure tethered to the ocean floor by custom proprietary anchors, designed as a "wave speed bump" that reduces wave height and velocity by forcing wave energy to dissipate over its grooved architecture; and (2) an Artificial Floating Marsh System that builds coastline outward to protect shores against sea-level rise. Both systems are positioned as scalable from individual properties to major cities, targeting coastal communities, municipal and local governments, and individual property owners globally.

The company's technology approach combines mechanical wave attenuation (The Wavebreaker) with ecological-style shoreline extension (the floating marsh), and it has signaled plans to integrate wave-energy capture and sensor capabilities onto the Wavebreaker platform. IP consists of a filed-pending patent for The Wavebreaker, and the company has accumulated credibility through the Harvard Innovation Labs Venture Program, the 2022 Harvard President's Innovation Challenge Ingenuity Award, and the Clinton Global Initiative Greenhouse Award.

Coastal Protection Solutions is pre-commercial and pre-revenue. Its sole disclosed funding event is a $100,000 investment from Harvard Innovation Labs in February 2023, supplemented by non-dilutive MassChallenge participation in April 2025. Headcount is 1–10 employees, and the company is preparing to deploy a 100-foot Wavebreaker prototype off the coast of Massachusetts in Fall 2024. No pricing, distribution channels, or go-to-market motion have been formalized; the implied future business model is direct enterprise sales of deployable coastal-protection infrastructure to municipal and governmental buyers, with secondary potential in individual property protection.

Name

Coastal Protection Solutions

Legal name

Coastal Protection Solutions, Inc.

Website

https://coastalprotectionsolutions.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Coastal Protection Solutions is a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based pre-commercial climate hardware company developing The Wavebreaker — a patent-pending composite-steel wave-attenuation structure — and an artificial floating marsh system to protect coastal communities from flooding and sea-level rise.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Coastal Protection Infrastructure

akta.pro primary industry

Breakwaters, Seawalls & Coastal Defense Structures (IMAFAJAC)

Keywords

• Coastal flood mitigation
• Wave breaking structures
• Storm surge protection
• Sea level rise defense
• Coastal infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Coastal Protection Solutions develops and sells deployable coastal flood mitigation systems, principally "The Wavebreaker" — a patent-pending composite steel wave-breaking structure tethered to the ocean floor with custom proprietary anchors that reduces wave height and velocity through its grooved architecture. The company also offers an artificial floating marsh system designed to build coastline outward as protection against sea-level rise. Both systems are designed to be scalable from individual properties to small towns and major cities.

Product overview

Coastal Protection Solutions offers two distinct coastal flood mitigation systems: 1) The Wavebreaker, a patent-pending composite steel structure that acts as a wave speed bump by reducing wave height and velocity through its grooved design, and 2) an artificial floating marsh system that builds coastline up and outward to protect against sea-level rise. Both systems can be adapted to different scales, from individual properties to small towns and major cities globally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Wavebreaker: Patent-pending composite steel structure tethered to the ocean floor that reduces wave height and velocity to mitigate coastal flooding damage. Works as a wave speed bump to decrease wave velocity to the shore.

Products and services

• The Wavebreaker A patent-pending composite steel wave-breaking structure tethered to the ocean floor with custom proprietary anchors that reduces wave height and velocity by bearing wave force and dissipating it through its grooved architecture. Marketed to coastal communities, municipalities, and property owners for protection against storm surge and coastal flooding.
• Artificial Floating Marsh System

Quantifiable outcome

• Wave height and velocity reduction through The Wavebreaker's grooved composite steel structure

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Ecocoast: Ecocoast designs and supplies floating breakwaters, wave attenuators, and other modular coastal protection products. It is the closest direct peer to Coastal Protection Solutions, building hardware-anchored systems to reduce wave energy before it reaches shore.
• SF Marina: SF Marina manufactures floating concrete breakwaters and pontoon systems used for wave attenuation at marinas and coastal sites. The product category — engineered floating structures that dissipate wave energy — overlaps directly with The Wavebreaker concept.

Broad incumbents

• AECOM: AECOM is a global infrastructure consulting firm with a sizable coastal and climate-resilience practice that designs seawalls, levees, and shoreline protection for governments. It competes for the same municipal and federal coastal-protection budgets that CPS targets, but as a full-service incumbent rather than a specialized product vendor.
• Arcadis: Arcadis is a global design and engineering consultancy with extensive coastal resilience, flood protection, and climate adaptation work. It is comparable as a large buyer/influencer in the same municipal coastal-protection RFP market that CPS intends to enter.
• Great Lakes Dredge & Dock: GLDD is a publicly traded US marine contractor that builds breakwaters, beach nourishment projects, and coastal storm protection. It addresses the exact same use case as CPS (coastal flood defense) but via dredging and traditional heavy civil construction.
• Royal Boskalis Westminster: Boskalis is a Dutch global marine contractor with substantial coastal defense, breakwater construction, and beach nourishment operations. It is a relevant incumbent that sets the performance/cost baseline that innovative coastal-defense products must beat.
• DEME Group: DEME is a Belgian marine solutions group active in dredging, land reclamation, and coastal protection including breakwaters and sea defenses. Comparable as a sophisticated offshore-coastal player operating in the same value chain as CPS.
• Tetra Tech: Tetra Tech is a leading environmental and engineering consulting firm with high exposure to coastal resilience, FEMA BRIC, and climate adaptation programs in the US. It represents the consultancy/procurement influence layer that CPS would need to navigate to win municipal contracts.
• Jan De Nul Group: Jan De Nul is a Belgian marine and civil contractor delivering coastal defense, beach nourishment, and breakwater projects worldwide. It is comparable as a large-scale coastal infrastructure incumbent that CPS would compete with at the project owner/contractor level.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Coastal Protection Solutions