Imagine H2O, the leading global accelerator for water solutions, announced the four winners of its 2025 Coastal Innovation Challenge. With the support of Oceankind, this year’s Challenge focuses on identifying and supporting innovative water technology companies addressing the critical needs of coastal communities, economies, and ecosystems. Carefully selected from a pool of 220 applicants, the winners represent diverse solutions, from wastewater management and treatment to microplastic pollution, with each receiving up to $100,000 in pilot funding to demonstrate and apply their technologies while scaling their business models.
With 29% of the world’s population living within 30 miles of a coastline and 80% of ocean pollution originating from wastewater—primarily untreated sewage—effective water resource management for coastal cities is crucial. Other complicating factors, such as climate change (a 1°C temperature rise can reduce future water supply by 20%) and water plastic pollution, underscore the need for Imagine H2O’s Coastal Innovation Challenge to help communities adopt solutions and develop resilience amidst these concerns.
The winners of the 2025 Coastal Innovation Challenge are:
- WaiHome: Creating a seamless aboveground wastewater treatment and disposal system designed to prevent raw sewage leaks while keeping costs manageable for an estimated 75% of Hawaii homeowners. Deployment Target: Haleiwa, HI, USA
- PolyGone Systems: Designing the world’s first affordable, portable, and environmentally friendly microplastic filtration device to remove aquatic microplastic pollutants from our waterways. Deployment Target: Charleston, SC, USA
- OceanWell: Developing a sustainable and cost-effective freshwater production solution for coastal communities. Deployment Target: Las Virgenes, CA, USA
- Nucleic Sensing Systems (NS2): Developing a real-time eDNA biosensor to rapidly identify potential biological threats. Deployment Target:
Pending site selection
Since launching its first Challenge in 2018 to address urban water problems, Imagine H2O has awarded over $2.2 million in award funding and technical assistance across 17 countries, including through the Water Innovation Pilot Fund, supported by Oceankind and the Coca-Cola Foundation. The 2025 Coastal Innovation Challenge builds on that success, further demonstrating Imagine H2O’s commitment to advancing water innovations that protect and preserve the world’s most important natural resource.