51³Ô¹ÏÍø

Accelerating Breakthrough Freshwater Technologies Worldwide

The Great Lakes Blue Tech Challenge, led by 51³Ô¹ÏÍø in collaboration with regional, national, and bi-national partners, is returning for 2027! We are calling on visionary entrepreneurs, early-stage startups, researchers, and student-led ventures to bring forward bold, scalable solutions that tackle the most pressing environmental, technological, and infrastructure challenges facing the Great Lakes basin and freshwater ecosystems worldwide.

Whether you are building a working prototype or taking a disruptive concept to market, the Blue Tech Challenge provides the funding, mentorship, and ecosystem network to take your venture to the next level.

Key Dates, Timeline, and Restrictions

• Formal Program Announcement: December 18, 2026
• Applications Open: January 18, 2027
• The Great Lakes Blue Tech Challenge is primarily designed for college students, early-career professionals, and early-stage businesses.
• The Great Lakes Blue Tech Challenge is open to Canadian and United States applicants only.

Prize Purse and Funding Opportunities

We are proud to announce an expanded prize package for the 2027 competition, offering over $80,000 in total cash awards and facilities support:

• First Place Winner: $50,000 Total Award ($30,000 cash seed funding + $20,000 toward lease fees in the new, state-of-the-art )
• Second Place Winner: $20,000 cash award
• Third Place Winner: $10,000 cash award

focus areas

We encourage submissions across a broad range of freshwater science, technology, and engineering disciplines. Key categories include:

1. Maritime Mobility and Exploration Systems: Autonomous and uncrewed surface/subsea vessels (USVs/ROVs), marine positioning and navigation logistics, and specialized Great Lakes exploration hardware.

2. Water Intelligence, Decision Support, and Point-of-Use Solutions: Real-time IoT sensor networks, predictive analytics, digital twins, and decentralized drinking water safety tools.

3. Aquatic Ecosystems, Invasive Species Management, and Water Treatment: Invasive species monitoring and control, habitat restoration, and advanced drinking, process, and wastewater treatment technologies.

4. Water Infrastructure, Asset Management, and Circular Solutions: Automated subsea infrastructure inspection, circular resource recovery, and coastal resilience solutions for extreme weather.

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Founder Growth and Webinar Series

Winning prize money is only part of the journey! Participating startups will gain direct access to expert-led workshops, facilitated by representatives, designed to sharpen business strategy and investor readiness. Webinar topics include:

• Customer Discovery — Finding market fit and identifying key industry partners.
• Legal Overview and Founder Agreements — Building a strong legal foundation for your startup.
• Intellectual Property (IP) — Protecting your proprietary technologies and assets.
• Financials — Building robust financial models and projections.
• Pitch Development — Crafting a compelling narrative to impress judges, investors, and stakeholders.

Celebrating our 2026 Winners

Get inspired by the innovative startups that led the way in our 2026 competition:

• 1st Place: Naiad Technologies (Malia Chavinson) — Produces portable, scalable buoy systems (such as the Cyrene) designed to mitigate toxic cyanobacteria and algae blooms by targeting nutrient pollution. Their continuous biochemical filtration unit extracts excess phosphates, and the removable filter packages can be repurposed as enriched soil fertilizer. Learn more at .
• 2nd Place: Nucleic Sensing Systems/NS² (Edgar Rudberg) — Manufactures ruggedized, fully autonomous biosensors designed for real-time environmental DNA (eDNA) and RNA tracking in the field. Functioning as a continuous genetic "smoke alarm," their field-deployable Tracker units stream genetic data directly to the cloud to help predict and mitigate ecological hazards. Learn more at .
• 3rd Place: Lacuum AI (Amer Abughaida) — Develops autonomous robotic vessels (such as the Alpha and Beta prototypes) for continuous, 24/7 water remediation in lakes, ponds, and waterfronts. Their vessels harvest algae, invasive weeds, and debris without chemical treatments, gather real-time water quality and bathymetry data, and support circular biomass reuse for biochar and fertilizer. Learn more at .

Ready to Make Waves?

Stay tuned for the formal announcement on December 18, 2026, and prepare your applications for launch on January 18, 2027!