What OceansX does

OceansX is a Dutch social enterprise foundation (Stichting OceansX) founded in June 2019 by Berend van de Kraats, a former Royal Netherlands Navy submarine commander. The organization operates through a three-layer governance structure — vision held by the foundation, mission executed through OceansX Ltd., and asset operations managed by a consortium — with all impact anchored in the public domain. It runs six concurrent "Xplorations" addressing societal challenges: Coastline (a floating solar-powered desalination microgrid producing 1,000m3 of potable water per 24 hours for disaster relief and Small Island Developing States), ISAMO (iron-salt atmospheric methane oxidation research coordinating seafarer-collected air samples, validated by a 2023 PNAS publication), Crew Support (a sovereign federated learning data infrastructure for maritime operators), Oceans1 (a gamified CO2-reduction challenge for ship crews aligned with IMO 2050 targets), BOEST (a water governance platform), and the ECO-button (an ML-driven fuel-consumption prediction tool using digital twin modeling).

The company serves maritime shipping operators (Maersk, Stolt Tankers, Damen, Van Oord), the Royal Netherlands Navy, governments of Curaçao and Barbados, multilateral organizations (UNICEF, UNFAO), and research institutions (Utrecht University, University of Copenhagen, Cornell, CSIC). Its technical stack combines atmospheric sampling networks, federated learning for collaborative model training without data centralization, digital twin technology, and machine learning models (anomaly detection, LSTM performance prediction, random forest and deep learning optimization algorithms).

OceansX generates no disclosed commercial revenue. Its economic model is sponsorship- and grant-based, relying on voluntary contributions, organizational memberships, subsidies, and gifts through a community platform at community.oceansx.nl. There is no commercial pricing for products or services; participation in Xplorations is open and free for collaborators. Approximately 50 people actively work on OceansX initiatives, with a stated target of 240 Xplorers by 2028. Operating geographies are the Netherlands (HQ, Living Lab) and Curaçao (first-of-class asset).

Name

OceansX

Legal name

Stichting OceansX

Website

https://oceansx.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

OceansX is a Dutch social-enterprise foundation running six Xplorations — floating desalination (Coastline), atmospheric methane research (ISAMO), federated maritime data infrastructure (Crew Support), and gamified CO2-reduction challenges (Oceans1) — serving maritime operators, governments, and humanitarian agencies via sponsorship and consortium partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Maritime Sustainability and Water Innovation

NAICS

Other Support Activities for Water Transportation (48839)

SIC

Water Supply (4941)

akta.pro primary industry

Oceans, Coastal & Marine Resource Management (BPADALAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Marine Sensors, Instrumentation & IoT (Condition Monitoring) (IMAJAJAI)

Keywords

• Maritime sustainability
• Floating water desalination
• Federated learning infrastructure
• Atmospheric methane research
• Social innovation platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Rotterdam, South Holland

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Sponsorship and Donations: OceansX operates as a social enterprise dependent on voluntary work, contributions from participating organisations, subsidies and gifts. The foundation structure means revenue comes from sponsors and donors supporting specific Xplorations.
2. Project-based Partnerships: Collaborative projects with governments, NGOs, and institutions (e.g., Xploration Coastline with Curaçao government, UNICEF, FAO) that may include funding for specific humanitarian or sustainability outcomes.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

OceansX is a Dutch social enterprise foundation that facilitates structured 'Xplorations' — mission-driven initiatives addressing complex societal challenges across water access, atmospheric methane research, and maritime sustainability. Its portfolio includes Xploration Coastline (floating desalination microgrid producing 1000m3 of potable water daily), Xploration ISAMO (atmospheric methane oxidation research), Xploration Crew Support (federated learning maritime data infrastructure), Oceans1 (CO2 reduction challenge for ship crews), and Xploration BOEST (water governance platform).

Product overview

OceansX is a social enterprise organized around 'Xplorations' - systematic initiatives that address complex societal challenges. The core portfolio includes Xploration Coastline (floating water desalination producing 1 million liters daily), Xploration ISAMO (atmospheric methane research), Xploration Crew Support (maritime data infrastructure with federated learning), Oceans1 (CO2 reduction challenge for seafarers), and Xploration BOEST (water governance platform). Supporting tools include the ECO-button performance prediction tool and CO2-challenge boardgame. The organization operates Living Labs and facilitates open innovation across maritime, water, and climate domains.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Xploration Coastline: A floating water desalination and treatment concept producing 1000m3 of potable water per 24 hours, powered by 100% green energy with zero-emission footprint for coastal regions and humanitarian disaster response.
• Xploration ISAMO
• Xploration Crew Support
• Oceans1
• BOEST

Products and services

• Xploration Coastline A floating maritime water and energy microgrid producing 1000 cubic meters of potable water every 24 hours from seawater, powered by 100% green energy with zero-emission footprint. Designed for deployment at coastal locations with acute or persistent water shortages due to natural disasters, drought, or salinization.
• Xploration ISAMO Iron-Salt Atmospheric Methane Oxidation project studying natural methane removal from the atmosphere catalyzed by Saharan dust interaction with salty maritime boundary layer under sunlight. Coordinates atmospheric air sampling via seafarer networks to support climate science research.
• Xploration Crew Support A sovereign federated learning maritime data infrastructure enabling algorithm development and learning across the maritime sector. Provides workload reductions, enhances sustainability, and enables new business cases through data-driven insights while maintaining data sovereignty for all participants.
• Oceans1 (Xploration Oceans1) A competitive challenge platform for crews of sea-going vessels to reduce CO2 emissions through social and technical innovation. Provides data-driven insights, gamified competition environment, digital twins, and customized support to boost sustainable practices.
• Xploration BOEST Water governance challenge platform connecting users through water to tackle complex water issues together. Enables agricultural entrepreneurs, water regions, water-labs, recreational users, and data-centers to collaborate on water challenges.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1000m3 water production capacity per 24 hours from Xploration Coastline
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

21 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• A.P. Moller - MaerskcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMaersk seafarers participate in ISAMO atmospheric sampling campaigns, collecting air samples across shipping routes to support climate science research on methane oxidation.
• Stolt TankerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStolt Tankers seafarers have collected over 500 flasks of air samples in the North Atlantic for the ISAMO project, contributing to understanding of natural methane oxidation processes.
• University of Copenhagen (Department of Chemistry)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerScientific partner analyzing atmospheric samples for ISAMO project, contributing to research on iron-salt atmospheric methane oxidation processes.
• Utrecht UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessor Thomas Röckmann's laboratory analyzes collected air samples. University contributed to PNAS publication on chlorine atom production over North Atlantic.
• Spark Climate SolutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization providing expertise on methane removal approaches, specifically iron-salt aerosol (ISA) technology for climate intervention.
• Cornell UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch institution contributing to ISAMO scientific publication on atmospheric methane oxidation research.
• CSIC (Spanish National Research Council)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerContributed to ISAMO research and PNAS publication on atmospheric chemistry processes.
• Koninklijke Marine (Royal Netherlands Navy)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNaval force participating in Xploration Crew Support federated learning infrastructure and Oceans1 CO2 challenge with multiple ships. Supported ECO-button project development.
• DamencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerShip builder participating in Xploration Crew Support consortium for federated learning maritime data infrastructure development.
• Van OordcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMaritime company participating in Xploration Crew Support consortium, contributing to federated learning infrastructure for maritime optimization.
• Stolt-Nielsen LimitedcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent company of Stolt Tankers, involved in Crew Support Xploration and ISAMO atmospheric sampling initiatives.
• Aqualectra (Curacao Water and Power Company)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal utility partnership for Xploration Coastline operations in Curaçao, providing water and power infrastructure integration.
• University of CuraçaocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership for Xploration Coastline research, development and local community engagement.
• UNICEFcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUN agency participating in Xploration Coastline discussions for water access solutions, bringing WaSH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) expertise.
• UNFAOcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFood and Agriculture Organization involved in power-2-water-2-food discussions for agricultural development and food security.
• Government of CuraçaocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational government partnership for Xploration Coastline implementation, with actionable plan ratified by Board of Ministers.
• Ministerie van Defensie (Netherlands Ministry of Defence)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDutch defense ministry involved in Caribbean humanitarian operations and Xploration Coastline discussions.
• Floating FarmminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInnovation partner for power-2-water-2-food integration projects with Xploration Coastline.
• Nederland Maritiem LandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDutch maritime industry association supporting Xploration Coastline feasibility study through MIIP instrument.
• Rotterdam Mainport Institute (RMI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational institution contributing students to Xploration Coastline Living Lab research at RDM Campus.
• Acacia Impact Innovation BVminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImpact innovation company contributing to ISAMO research and climate science advancement.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Charity: Water: Nonprofit funding clean water access projects globally, with strong donor-driven funding model and partnership orientation. Comparable to OceansX in mission-driven water-security focus and reliance on contributions, partnerships, and public-facing storytelling for sustainability.
• The Ocean Cleanup: Nonprofit foundation developing large-scale technology to clean the ocean, headquartered in the Netherlands. Directly comparable to OceansX in foundation structure, Dutch origin, ocean-themed mission, and partnership-driven operating model across governments, NGOs, and industry.
• Nautilus Labs: Maritime AI platform providing fleet performance optimization and CO2 reduction analytics for shipping companies. Closely comparable to OceansX's Crew Support and Oceans1 Xplorations in applying data-driven optimization to shipping decarbonization for enterprise maritime customers.
• Spark Climate Solutions: Nonprofit accelerator focused on methane removal approaches, including iron-salt aerosol (ISA) technology. Directly comparable as OceansX's named scientific partner in atmospheric methane research and the ISAMO Xploration's intellectual counterpart.
• Oneka Technologies: Developer of wave-powered desalination buoys producing potable water for coastal communities and island regions. Closely comparable to OceansX's Xploration Coastline in floating, low-emission desalination for humanitarian and small-island water security use cases.
• WaterAid: International nonprofit focused on water access, sanitation, and hygiene in vulnerable communities. Comparable to OceansX in addressing water scarcity for humanitarian purposes and in partnering with UN agencies (UNICEF, FAO) on water-security delivery.

Emerging players

• Saildrone: Operator of autonomous ocean-going vehicles collecting high-resolution ocean and atmospheric data for climate and weather science. Comparable to OceansX's ISAMO in deploying maritime infrastructure to generate atmospheric/oceanic datasets for climate science partners.
• RightShip: Maritime sustainability intelligence and ratings platform used by charterers, ports, and shipowners to assess vessel environmental performance. Comparable to OceansX's Oceans1 and Crew Support efforts in producing sustainability data signals for shipping industry stakeholders.

Broad incumbents

• Wärtsilä: Marine technology and services provider covering decarbonization, fleet optimization, and digital maritime solutions. Broadly comparable as an established incumbent serving shipping customers with overlapping sustainability and emissions-reduction offerings to OceansX's maritime programs.
• DNV Maritime: Global maritime advisory, certification, and digital solutions business addressing decarbonization, safety, and vessel performance. Comparable to OceansX as a broader incumbent in maritime sustainability services serving many of the same shipping customers (Maersk, Stolt).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubevimeo.com/user112231903
• Facebookfacebook.com/oceansx
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/oceansx

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 OceansX