About Us

We’re a renewable energy startup building the future of carbon-free ocean thermal energy.

Established in Hawaii, in 2022, we invented a novel way of monetizing variable energy demand eliminating uptime curtailment, reducing data centre operational costs and providing renewable caseload to grids in the Pacific, and beyond.

Ocean thermal power plants – done differently.

Meet the team

We are a mission-driven team of engineers, entrepreneurs, investors, and advisors from some of the world’s leading energy, technology, and ocean companies and institutions.

Our team and advisors have worked on nearly every ocean thermal energy development over the past three decades with 100+ years of combined ocean thermal energy experience, and on some of the largest offshore renewable energy projects globally.

Pairing this experience with innovations in technology, engineering, and design, we are building a new generation of ocean thermal power plants.

  • Nathaniel Harmon, M.S. 

    Cofounder & CEO
    Nate is a chemical oceanographer and engineer who received his M.S. in Geochemistry and Marine Geology and a B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. His research focused on autonomous oceanographic instrument development and microfluidic chemical engineering. Following he worked on proposals and research for the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative, facilitated Hawaii's entrance into the International Alliance to Combat Ocean Acidification, founded the software development and consulting firm Blockchain Solutions Hawaii, sits on the advisory board of the Hawaiian Islands Conservation Collective, and is the inventor of Demand Response OTEC. He’s conducted at sea research expeditions and is a SCUBA instructor with thousands of dives globally.  

    Samuel Benson, PG.D.

    Cofounder & President
    Sam is a Class 1 Marine Engineer with over ten years sailing around South East Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean and Antarctica. Sam worked at sea on vessels as a Chief Engineer before shifting ashore into maritime operations and vessel management for Teekay Shipping Australia, leading the teams responsible for the safe operation of Government services vessels. His experience includes vessel design and refit activities, compliance and safety, management and operations.

  • Richard Argall, M.S. 
    Ocean Energy Engineering 

    Steve Kibbee, D.Eng  
    Offshore Energy Platforms 

    Rete Browning, M.S. 
    Data Centers & Energy Monetization

    Chris Sabine, Ph.D.  
    Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal

    Gérard Nihous, Ph.D. 
    Ocean Energy Resource & Data Modeling

    Cory Klippsten, MBA 
    Movement Marketing & Fundraising

  • Luis Vega, Ph.D.

    R&D Engineering Lead
    Luis is the world’s leading OTEC engineer and the former Director of Hawaii’s National Marine Renewable Energy Center. He holds degrees in Applied Math, Aeronautical Engineering and Applied Ocean Science from the US Naval Academy, CALTECH and UCSD. He has worked with the UN, Department of Energy, US Navy, and Lockheed Martin on OTEC and renewable energy projects across the globe. His experience ranges from analytical studies to deployment of marine and renewable energy tech. He has worked on five of the most recent OTEC R&D projects including the largest plant to date, the 1 MW floating vessel conversion OTEC-1.

    Martin Brown, M.S.

    Naval Architect & Offshore Engineer
    Martin is the Vice-Chair of the Ocean Thermal Energy Association and spent 30+ years engineering offshore energy platforms and vessels. He was a Naval Architect & Project Manager for Saipem, McDermott, Noble Denton, and Aqualis-Braemar. His expertise includes cold water pipe design, floating production (FPSOs and floating wind), transportation, installation, and removal engineering. He has deep knowledge of mooring systems and field installation, including complex marine operations.

    Alexi Makris, M.S.

    Energy & Economic Analyst
    Alexi holds a M.S. in Sustainability in Energy Provision and Demand Management. He has worked as a Sr. Consultant for BVG Associates, a global renewables and marine energy generation consultancy. He has worked on analysis and modeling for some of the largest global offshore wind projects in the world, from cost modeling and supply chain to economic impact analysis. 

    Cris Windham, Esq.

    Legal
    Cris is an attorney with over 40 years of experience in Enviromental Law and large-scale Injury Litigation.  For over 35 years, he was a partner in a large international firm.  During this time, Cris founded and managed a stand-alone business within the firm that focused on all aspects of medical and scientific case defense.  The business, known as FirmLogic, provided services ranging from medical record collection and analysis, scientific research, case theory development and expert witness recruitment and development.  The company represented clients throughout the U.S and abroad, and consistently produced revenues between $10-20 million annually.  In his environmental practice, Cris spent 6 years representing the State of North Carolina as an Assistant Attorney General and worked with “green” technologies in private practice.