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2026
Semifinalist - XPRIZE Water Scarcity
Blue Carbon named a Semifinalist in the prestigious XPRIZE Water Scarcity competition, recognising the company’s innovative ocean-powered desalination solution addressing global water scarcity challenges.
2026
Winner – KPMG Nature Positive Challenge (plus People’s Choice Award) 2026
Blue Carbon is the first ever dual winner of the $100,000 KPMG Nature Positive Prize and the $20,000 People’s Choice Award. In addition, Blue Carbon receives tailored advisory services from KPMG.
2025
Winner – LMBA Product Innovation Award 2025
Awarded the Accenture Australia Product Innovation Award at the 2025 Brisbane Lord Mayor’s Business Awards.
2025
Qualified Team – XPRIZE Water Scarcity
Blue Carbon is a Qualified Team in the Desalination category in the $119 million, 5-year global competition designed to drive widespread access to clean water.
2025
Double Nominee – Earth Shot Prize 2025
Nominated in two categories for Prince William’s Earthshot Prize, the world’s most prestigious environmental award.
2024
Finalist – GroundBreaker Prize 2024 FoodShot Global Challenge
Selected as a global finalist for sustainable aquaculture innovation. FoodShot Global Challenge identifies breakthrough technologies addressing food system challenges and ocean health.
2024
Winner – Start-Up of the Year 2024 (Australia) Hong Kong Australia Business Association
Awarded Australia’s top start-up for 2024, recognizing Blue Carbon’s potential to transform marine industries.
2023
Nominee – Eureka Award Australian Climate Tech Awards 2023
Recognized among Australia’s most promising climate technologies. The Eureka Awards represent Australia’s premier science and innovation recognition program.
Dr. Ana Novak
Dr. Ana Novak is a decorated innovator and systems leader with a multidisciplinary background spanning telecommunications, computer science, applied mathematics, Defence, and international diplomacy. She has led high-impact projects for the Australian Defence Force, earning both Gold and Bronze Commendations for outstanding service. A respected voice in applied science and national innovation, Ana was named a finalist for the prestigious Eureka Prize, Australia’s leading award for scientific excellence. Her career reflects a rare blend of technical expertise, strategic vision, and public service. Since transitioning into climate innovation, Ana has continued to garner international recognition—most recently as a 2025 Earthshot Prize nominee, a Global FoodShot finalist, and a featured speaker at the 2025 World Economic Forum. She brings a deeply analytical yet mission-driven mindset to every endeavour, grounded in a belief that bold, science-led collaboration can reshape the future.
Eva Chiu
Eva Chiu is an accomplished entrepreneur and financial strategist with over two decades of experience building and scaling businesses across Asia and Australia. She is the Founder and Managing Director of a leading manufacturer in the promotional products industry with a blue-chip client base. A four-time founder with a proven record in product innovation, premium sourcing, and operational leadership, Eva is widely recognized in Hong Kong’s business community. Her accolades include the Hong Kong Commercial Daily Outstanding Women Business Leader Award and multiple customer service excellence honors. She has also held prominent leadership roles in community organizations, and board member of several business chambers. Now, as CFO and Co-Founder of Blue Carbon, Eva brings a unique blend of commercial acumen and purpose-driven leadership to accelerate the company’s growth and global impact in climate technology.
Prof. Ladislav Novak
Professor Ladislav Novak is a senior academic, inventor, and research leader who serves as Scientific Advisor and Principal Inventor for Blue Carbon. As a Research Fellow and Full Professor at the University of Novi Sad, he held research and teaching appointments at the University of Warwick (UK), Indiana University Bloomington (USA), and the National Technical University of Athens (Greece). He has published extensively in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals and co-authored an international research monograph published by Cambridge University Press in the Cambridge Tracts in Theoretical Computer Science series. With a robust background in mathematics, applied physics, theoretical electrotechnics, and computer science, Professor Novak brings rigorous scientific governance, deep inventive capability, and international research credibility to Blue Carbon’s platform development and commercialization roadmap.
John Markos
Governance and legal expert. Decades as major law firm partner. C-suite commercial connections and guidance. John provides the strategic legal framework necessary for Blue Carbon to navigate international waters and complex regulatory environments, ensuring long-term stability and corporate integrity.
Matthew Bungey
Foundational investor. Led Barclays Investment Bank as MD. Extensive financial and investment network. Track record maturing high impact carbon credit projects and energy markets. Matthew’s deep understanding of global finance enables Blue Carbon to structure sustainable investment vehicles that drive both environmental and economic returns.
Dr. Martin Mathew
Physical oceanographer with a PhD on phytoplankton bloom dynamics. Specialist in moored buoy networks, sensor integration, and rigorous QC/QA, with field leadership across multiple research cruises. At Blue Carbon he leads the oPod™ Mini network and reliability programs, guiding our AI team’s conversion of in-situ/satellite/model data into risk indices and site-scale mitigation. His work ensures that our environmental monitoring is both scientifically robust and operationally efficient.
Felicity White
Decades of agtech industry expertise now drive Blue Carbon's market expansion. She leverages a vast network to accelerate adoption of wave-powered tech. Her experience bridges deep tech, software, and hardware, allowing her to translate complex innovation into scalable commercial strategies that resonate with global stakeholders.
Carol Erasmus
Carol Erasmus is an engineering leader with over two decades of experience delivering complex systems for marine, offshore, defence, and heavy industrial applications. A Chartered Professional Engineer with BSc and MSc degrees in Mechanical Engineering, she served as Senior Mechanical Design Engineer at Acheron Projects, responsible for critical components for James Cameron’s record-depth manned submersible DeepSea Challenger. As Principal Engineer at Blue Carbon, Carol oversees the oPod™ ocean infrastructure portfolio, applying deep expertise in structural, hydraulic, and thermodynamic design to ensure robust and scalable hardware.
John Christian
John Christian is an innovative technology leader with over 25 years' and Fortune 150 company experience building and scaling platforms across energy, utilities, and climate tech sectors. He built and led CBRE Host as Global Head of Product & Engineering, scaling a workplace experience platform to 1,000+ buildings across four continents. He served as Chief Technology Officer at Exergenics, leading the development of AI-powered HVAC optimization systems deployed across commercial real estate, airports, and data centres globally, earning recognition from the Green Building Council of Australia and Engineers Australia. As Principal Consultant at Prospecta Utilities, he defined and delivered an embedded utilities platform serving 6,000 meters across communities, generating $6M in annual billing. John holds a Bachelor of Information Technology from QUT and is a named inventor on patents for both HVAC control systems and online ordering innovations. At Blue Carbon, he brings deep technical expertise in product development, data systems, and commercial deployment to accelerate wave-powered climate solutions from concept to global scale.
Yanir Seroussi
Yanir started his career in big tech (Intel, Qualcomm, Google) and earned an award-winning PhD in applied AI from Monash University. He then spent over a decade building Data & AI systems for startups and scaleups, including Automattic (multi-billion dollar makers of WordPress.com) and Car Next Door (acquired by Uber). An avid scuba diver, Yanir has completed hundreds of underwater surveys with the Reef Life Survey program, for which he also built data tools and co-authored papers published in Biological Conservation and Nature. Working with Blue Carbon combines his practical Data & AI expertise with his deep care for the ocean and our shared environment.
Mauricio Jakulicia
Mauricio Jakulicia is an entrepreneurial operator with broad experience transforming complex ideas into real-world systems. Over the past decade, he has led teams across coordination, operational design, and market expansion in Argentina, and Australia. His background includes founding and managing multi-location ventures, building logistics networks, and guiding cross-border from concept to commercialization. As Americas Lead – oPod Air Programs, he oversees engineering collaboration, prototype testing, and strategic market entry across the Americas. Mauricio brings a rare blend of practical execution, commercial acumen, and mission-driven leadership to help scale ocean-based climate solutions.
Frank Hui
Frank Hui drives Blue Carbon’s global strategic partnerships and commercial growth initiatives, leveraging deep expertise in international business development, market expansion, and stakeholder engagement across Asia-Pacific and global markets. He has successfully built and managed relationships with leading multinational corporations, helping innovative technologies scale from development to commercial adoption. With a strong background in strategic planning, customer engagement, and cross-cultural leadership, Frank is passionate about connecting industry, investors, and technology partners to accelerate impactful climate and ocean solutions. At Blue Carbon, he focuses on expanding strategic collaborations that support the company’s mission to restore marine ecosystems and combat climate change.
Sam Ibbott
Go-to expert, decades advising government and industry on marine ecology. Respected pillar of the local and national marine community. Leads the intersection of industry and nature: Tasmanian-based company and team. Sam's practical experience in the water ensures that Blue Carbon's technology is not only advanced but environmentally empathetic.
Susan Webster
Sue Webster is a prize-winning journalist, editor and novelist. After working in Australia and the UK for Fairfax and Murdoch publications, and receiving a citation in the Australian Journalist of the Year award, she established a successful corporate communications business focussed on agriculture, infrastructure and R&D.
Meet our Wonderful Team
This is the space to introduce the business’s team and what makes it special.
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