This bill creates "Ocean Innovation Clusters" to strengthen coastal, Great Lakes, and Gulf communities and the Blue Economy. The Secretary of Commerce must designate at least 7 clusters within one year. Eligible clusters are led by not-for-profit organizations and must include businesses, academic institutions (including minority- and Tribal-serving schools), nonprofits, and government or Tribal entities in a concentrated geographic area. The bill requires geographic diversity, including at least one cluster in each of the five National Marine Fisheries Service regions, the Great Lakes, and the Gulf of Mexico.
Clusters will work on research and technology development, job training, cross-sector partnerships, and economic diversification. The law directs coordination among the National Sea Grant program, NOAA, the Economic Development Administration, the Department of Energy, and other agencies. Each region with a cluster must have at least one physical Ocean Innovation Center for Cross-Sector Collaboration. Centers are meant to offer shared workspaces, labs, meeting rooms, entrepreneur support, and workforce training such as internships and apprenticeships.
A new grant program is added to the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act. The Secretary of Commerce may award competitive grants to clusters to help them operate. Grants may not exceed $10,000,000 each, have a base term of two years, and may be renewed. The bill authorizes $10,000,000 in appropriations for each fiscal year 2026 through 2030 to support these grants.
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