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Search Results for: CRADA

A science center building located near the ocean

Missions accomplished: research partnerships advance NOAA innovation

CRADA Success, Featured Story, Partnerships, Technology Partnerships Office News / By

Public-private collaborations drive NOAA successes in 2022 Public-private partnerships are vital for bringing private sector innovation and agility to NOAA’s research and development efforts. One of the key tools in NOAA’s partnership toolkit is the CRADA, or Cooperative Research and Development Agreement. “A CRADA is a flexible tool that helps NOAA work quickly and easily with the private sector. CRADAs help facilitate a collaborative, two-way exchange of information, technologies, and ideas,” says NOAA Technology Transfer Program Manager, Wayne Mackenzie. A CRADA is a formal agreement that allows federal and non-federal partners to do collaborative research and develop new science into commercially-available technologies. Specifically, CRADAs establish partnerships between NOAA Laboratories or Science Centers and private U.S. companies, universities, and other entities. These valuable tools help create flexible and agile collaboration spaces by allowing partners to more quickly and easily share ideas, expertise, facilities, and other research materials.  This graph shows new CRADAs signed and total active CRADAs over the last two decades. The decrease in total active CRADAs shown during FY21 represents the closing out of a number of agreements due to COVID-19. Courtesy of NOAA TPO. The NOAA Technology Partnerships Office (TPO) is responsible for managing all of NOAA’s CRADAs. TPO initiated 18 new CRADAs in Fiscal Year 2022, which is the highest number of agreements ever to be started in one year at NOAA. NOAA and its research partners benefitted from a total of 52 active CRADAs this year. The number of CRADAs at NOAA is increasing as more federal researchers and potential partners understand the value of existing public-private research and development efforts.  Following are some of the CRADA partnership highlights from this year: Satellite technology to provide faster and more accurate forecasts NOAA and Boston-based company tomorrow.io joined forces to provide more timely access to satellite data and scientific models that decision-makers can use to protect the nation’s security, environment, economy, and quality of life. Tomorrow.io is a weather intelligence and climate security platform that provides information and data visualizations to help countries, businesses, and individuals better manage weather- and climate-related challenges, such as coastal flooding. NOAA is working with tomorrow.io’s new satellite constellation to combine the company’s hyper-local data with NOAA’s global weather models. The goal is to produce accurate and high-resolution precipitation forecasts for very large areas. Tomorrow.io’s climate adaptation web platform, which is powered by its proprietary weather intelligence and weather api. Courtesy of tomorrow.io A collaboration advances oyster probiotic research NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center has teamed up with a number of companies to test a new technology that could improve oyster larvae survival rates in hatcheries around the world. The collaborators are working together to test the effectiveness of a NOAA-developed oyster probiotic called OY15. Through a special CRADA collaboration called a Material Transfer Agreement, NOAA transferred the probiotic to a company called Prospective Research, Inc. so it could be further developed into a commercially-available form. Then, a new powdered version of the probiotic was again transferred to three oyster hatcheries – Pacific Hybreed, Inc., Taylor Shellfish Farms, and Cartron Point Shellfish, Ltd. – so it could be further tested and refined to give oyster hatchery farmers an advantage against disease. Read more about this public-private research collaboration. A lab technician demonstrates a freeze-dried formulation of oyster probiotic OY15. Courtesy of Rose Leeger. Uncrewed ocean vessel technology benefits from tank tests NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center has granted two small companies access to use their Ocean Technology Development Test Tank. The companies will use the tank to test their uncrewed ocean research vehicles before performing more tests in the ocean. California-based Seatrec, Inc. is developing an uncrewed sea profiling float that will help NOAA researchers generate and communicate scientific data that informs marine life management and conservation efforts. San Diego-based SubSeaSail, LLC is developing an autonomous vessel that will also use the tank for testing. These public-private collaborations are made possible using a third type of CRADA called a Facilities Use Agreement. NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center is located in La Jolla, CA. Courtesy of NOAA. Climate prediction capabilities get a boost from the cloud Microsoft and NOAA have teamed up to leverage the Azure Artificial Intelligence platform and high-performance cloud computing capacity to improve NOAA’s environmental prediction capabilities. “We are excited about the potential of partnering NOAA’s environmental intelligence with Microsoft’s cloud computing in hopes of amplifying NOAA’s ability to predict climate, weather, and ocean changes,” said NOAA Administrator Dr. Rick Spinrad. A key goal of this partnership is to create a searchable data catalog that supports public policy, economic growth, environmental protection, and increased climate resiliency. Read more about how this project will support NOAA’s mission to create a Climate-Ready Nation. NOAA and Microsoft have formed a partnership to harness Microsoft’s cloud computing expertise to help advance NOAA’s mission to predict climate, weather and ocean changes. Courtesy of NOAA CRADA impacts on the future The cumulative economic and scientific impact of NOAA’s public-private partnerships is significant. These collaborations increase NOAA’s capacity to do scientific research, stimulate technological innovation, and generate broad economic value for the U.S. economy, the global New Blue Economy, and individual U.S. businesses. As scientific research is called upon to inform solutions for some of society’s most pressing challenges, partnerships are essential and CRADAs unlock enormous potential for collaborative problem-solving and innovation. Visit the NOAA Partnerships Page for additional information about the NOAA Technology Transfer Program, view a list of NOAA’s active CRADAs, and read about other CRADA success stories.  Note: Any reference obtained from this website to a specific company, product, process, or service does not constitute or imply an endorsement by NOAA. Story published on December 22, 2022 by Matthew Bryant Media contact: suzi.webster@noaa.gov

Public-private research partnerships are fueling NOAA innovation

CRADA Success, Featured Story, Partnerships, Technology Transfer Success / By

A record number of NOAA Cooperative Research and Development Agreements in 2021 has generated scientific and economic benefits Research partnerships are increasingly important as scientists work to address complex global problems like coastal resilience, food security, and climate change. Public-private partnerships, in particular, are vital for bringing private sector innovation and agility into NOAA’s research and development efforts. One of the key tools in NOAA’s partnership toolkit is the CRADA, or Cooperative Research and Development Agreement.  A CRADA is a formal agreement that allows federal and non-federal partners to do collaborative research and further develop new science into commercially-available products. CRADAs connect NOAA Laboratories or Science Centers with private U.S. companies, universities, and other entities, creating scientific partnerships across NOAA’s mission areas. CRADAs are valuable because they allow NOAA and non-federal partners to share ideas, technical expertise, facilities, and other research materials. The NOAA Technology Partnerships Office (TPO) is responsible for managing all of NOAA’s CRADAs. During Fiscal Year 2021, TPO initiated 18 new CRADAs, which is the highest number of these agreements ever to be started in one year at NOAA. This represents a 28% increase in the total number of new CRADAs from the previous fiscal year. Furthermore, NOAA and its research partners benefitted from a total of 57 active CRADAs this year, representing an increase of 24% from 2020. The number of CRADAs at NOAA is increasing as more federal researchers and non-federal partners see the value of existing public-private research and development efforts. Collaborations between NOAA and private-sector innovators accelerate research and development that supports both NOAA’s operations and commercialization within the private sector. This is important because more people can benefit from cutting-edge scientific discoveries and inventions when they are available on the commercial market. One example of an ongoing CRADA collaboration is NOAA’s partnership with U.S. biotechnology company, Prospective Research, Inc. NOAA researchers developed a probiotic to prevent disease in oysters and then began a public-private partnership with Prospective Research to further develop and test a freeze-dried version of the formula. The new shelf-stable probiotic has been shown to increase the survival rate of oyster larvae by 20-30% and is expected to be commercially available in 2022. The probiotic has the potential to increase sustainable aquaculture production worldwide. Another partnership between NOAA and the U.S. business, Saildrone, has simultaneously increased NOAA’s capacity to conduct innovative research and provide high-quality climate services, while also directly benefiting Saildrone and the U.S economy, more broadly. NOAA and Saildrone entered into a CRADA to explore how the company’s ocean drone technology could be further developed and strategically used to collect environmental data. Saildrone’s products have since been modified to support diverse NOAA research projects in the Arctic, across fisheries, around Antarctica, and even in the eye of a hurricane. The hurricane-equipped Saildrone Explorer was recently named one of the 100 Greatest Innovations of 2021. Video footage from on board Saildrone 1045 and animation showing location in Hurricane Sam on Sept. 30, 2021. As a result of this fruitful research partnership, NOAA scientists have been able to use the newly-collected data to improve storm forecasts, fisheries management, and climate services, while Saildrone has enjoyed a significant boom in business. According to a 2019 economic valuation study, during the three years after the 2014 CRADA with NOAA was established, Saildrone expanded their workforce from eight to over 100 employees and secured over $95 million in third-party investments into their technology. This influx of interest and sales can be partially attributed to the perceived scientific rigor associated with NOAA’s involvement in Saildrone’s product development. The economic benefits of Saildrone’s technology continue to increase– in October 2021, Saildrone announced the close of its $100 million Series C funding round. The company’s continued growth and success is creating jobs in several industries and is a significant asset for U.S. economies, especially in areas where Saildrones are created and deployed. While the NOAA-Saildrone partnership has been particularly successful, the cumulative impact of more than 50 active NOAA CRADAs underway cannot be overstated from either a scientific or an economic perspective. The collaborations increase NOAA’s capacity to do scientific research, while also stimulating technological innovation and generating broad economic value for the U.S. economy, the global New Blue Economy, and individual U.S. businesses. This economic impact was particularly important during the global COVID pandemic, so it is especially notable that NOAA reached its highest-ever annual number of new CRADAs during Fiscal Year 2021. Over the next year, TPO hopes to continue to expand NOAA’s use of CRADAs as a way to create partnerships. TPO is working with NOAA scientists and engineers to help them evaluate how a CRADA or other type of research partnership can most effectively support their research objectives. TPO also serves as the lead of the Partnerships Working Group under the Science and Technology Synergy Committee of the NOAA Science Council. TPO will continue to highlight the many ways that public-private partnerships support NOAA’s mission and stimulate innovation of new products bound for the commercial market. As scientific research is called upon to inform solutions for some of society’s most pressing challenges, partnerships are essential and CRADAs unlock enormous potential for collaborative problem-solving and innovation.

Two people hold up a sample of red algae near a culturing tank

How a NOAA partnership helped create a seaweed dream team

CRADA Success, Featured Story, Partnerships / By

A NOAA partnership has helped land-based macroalgae farm SOLSEA achieve profitable seaweed production while contributing to innovative research Story originally published by The Fish Site The power of partnership When Diane Boratyn first decided to grow macroalgae – more commonly known as seaweed – on land to support her plant-based skincare company, she knew about the health benefits of seaweed but lacked the know-how to cultivate it consistently on a commercial scale. She quickly learned that it would take large-scale production of seaweed in order to be competitive in expanded markets. Boratyn has a mind for business innovation and was fully aware that in order to be successful, she needed to grow more, better, and faster. Dr. John Colt is a recently retired research fish biologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, Washington. He is an expert on aquaculture, and since 2000 he has explored growing macroalgae in land-based systems. While he was well-versed in the science of growing seaweed in controlled environments at the time, he had yet to experiment with growing it at a scale and consistency that was marketable. That’s where a public-private partnership between Boratyn and NOAA came into play. An example of seaweed grown in culturing tanks. Courtesy of SOLSEA, Ltd. A catalyst for innovation Having worked together in the past and realizing their similar needs, Boratyn and Colt formalized their partnership with a CRADA, or Cooperative Research & Development Agreement, in 2015. A CRADA is one of the easiest and most flexible ways for small businesses to work with NOAA. CRADAs are written agreements between a private U.S. company, university, or other entity and a NOAA Laboratory or Science Center. Both partners agree to work together on a collaborative research project and use their scientific results to develop commercially-viable products and services. When Boratyn and Colt started their research partnership, their main goals were to optimize the production of farm-raised seaweed and document how chemical compounds affected growth cycles. As a result of this collaboration, Boratyn’s seaweed tanks at her company, SOLSEA Ltd., now work to their full potential and deliver sustainable, high-quality plants that can meet the demands of today’s growing markets. At the same time, Colt’s scientific research has demonstrated that land-based seaweed farming offers a productive alternative to traditional harvesting and ocean farming. The CRADA partnership has been a win-win for Boratyn and NOAA. Commercialized skincare products that resulted from the SOLSEA CRADA partnership. Courtesy of SOLSEA, Ltd. The path to collaboration  Boratyn is a firm believer in the market potential of seaweed and seaweed products. Coming from an ocean and fisheries background, she began foraging for seaweed in the early 1990s to explore growth cycles and experiment with seaweed for cosmetic products. That activity turned into a skincare product line which integrated vitamins, lipids, minerals, and proteins originating from a species of seaweed indigenous to the Pacific Northwest. Today, her company is focused on aquaculture technology and commercializing a wider diversity of products for food, fertilizers, animal feeds, and plant-culturing operations.  Colt began working at NOAA in 1995, and has focused his research on aquaculture ever since. He argues that land-based seaweed farming offers a productive alternative to wild harvesting. This is especially true in the U.S., where open-ocean farming is restricted to a few areas and is subject to regulatory and permitting processes that limit its attractiveness to private companies. Colt’s research and Boratyn’s market vision were meant for each other. Boratyn already had the cultivating tanks in place, and Colt’s work at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center provided her with the analytical techniques to design the study. “We complemented each other on everything. It was a good mix,” reflected Colt.  Boratyn echoes his sentiment. “We found there was a mutually beneficial relationship,” she said. “We got to study seaweed growth rate, water quality, and other scientific parameters while being able to develop high-end commercial products with a predictable and steady supply. It was beneficial all the way around.” Left to right: Diane Boratyn and Dr. John Colt show off examples of seaweed produced in SOLSEA’s 1200-gallon, land-based culturing tanks. Courtesy of SOLSEA, Ltd. A learning process SOLSEA and NOAA’s partnership journey has involved tackling research problems – such as addressing various seasonal culturing challenges – that are key to mastering continuous growth cycles. Boratyn stated, “The last few years have been very challenging due to global warming and COVID-19. My goal in the next few years is to better understand how climate change impacts algae growth, and to design better aquaculture systems to handle the inevitable changes that impact any farming system.” Boratyn noted that another important aspect of the CRADA is the teamwork involved in learning how to navigate environmental impacts and other external influences. As the business changed over time, the researchers learned how to grow high-value species of seaweed, build new databases to log their findings, and preserve native cultures of seaweed that became important for future genetic mapping and long-term stability of the business. “The goal we had in mind was to grow our own seaweed, manufacture our products out of it, and then put them in the market,” explained Boratyn. “As a business, we needed to clearly define our goal, our output, and our final product.” She continued, “Most importantly, we realized that in order to build a good business model we needed reliable data from a good science base. That is why our collaboration with the Fisheries Science Center was fundamental.” CRADA research has shown that the inclusion of red macroalgae known as Turkish Towel (indicated by the “TT” in this lab photo) in plant-based feeds for sablefish increases feed intake, fish growth, and fish health. Shown here is dried seaweed from SOLSEA culturing operations which has been converted into fish food pellets. Courtesy of Ronald Johnson. The impact of a CRADA The partnership between NOAA and SOLSEA has been economically successful and has substantially advanced scientific research. SOLSEA has been able to expand its business from cosmetics to include fish food production and other potential revenue streams. Boratyn explained, “In the private sector, it is very important to not only have products on a weekly basis – which does not occur with a single annual harvest – but to come up with realistic economic models based on year-round production. This CRADA has allowed me to refine production and better forecast the company’s finances based on the species in new emerging markets.” Colt noted that their CRADA provided fundamental proof of concept and helped the company get to the next level, while simultaneously allowing NOAA to conduct experimental research in large commercial systems. Colt added, “Our research shows that it is possible to grow macroalgae with good yields over the entire year. We are also exploring the feasibility of putting two different types of macroalgae together where they can help each other grow while also keeping the tanks clean.” Results of this partnership have highlighted the potential of U.S. coastal communities to produce seaweed, and have demonstrated that land-based systems are suitable for high-quality mass production. Through public presentations and publications, research findings from this CRADA have the potential to bolster the broader U.S. aquaculture economy. Researchers measure and weigh seaweed cultures during the building of new research databases. Courtesy of SOLSEA, Ltd. Looking back while looking forward When asked to reflect on her CRADA experience, Boratyn stated, “From a company perspective – especially as a small business – it can be unaffordable to conduct the necessary foundational work and research. Our research partnership with NOAA helped us overcome the uncertainty of the question, ‘Can we do this?’ and gave our business a leg up on expanded species production for new markets.” Boratyn is already looking to the future, as she plans to develop the technology needed to expand land-based seaweed farming beyond her Seattle location, and to integrate educational and community outreach elements into future sites of engagement. Visit the NOAA Partnerships Page for additional information about the NOAA Technology Transfer Program, view a list of NOAA’s active CRADAs, and read about other CRADA success stories.  Note: Any reference obtained from this website to a specific company, product, process, or service does not constitute or imply an endorsement by NOAA. Published on February 8, 2023 by Matthew Bryant and Miguel Aristu Media contact: suzi.webster@noaa.gov

NOAA CRADA Partnerships

NOAA CRADA Partnerships Public-private partnerships are vital for bringing private sector innovation and agility into NOAA’s research and development enterprise. One of the key tools in NOAA’s partnership toolkit is the CRADA, or Cooperative Research and Development Agreement. Learn more about CRADAs here and search NOAA’s active CRADA partnerships below:  Search Sort Partnership by Category Partnership by Type Notes: This page is under development and partnership details will be added incrementally as they are received. Partnership entries are shown chronologically based on start date. Any reference obtained from this website to a specific company, product, process, or service does not constitute or imply an endorsement by NOAA.

CRADA-20YR-Graph2

This graph shows new CRADAs signed and total active CRADAs over the last two decades. The decrease in total active CRADAs shown during FY21 represents the closing out of a number of agreements due to COVID-19. Courtesy of NOAA TPO.