Ohio State startup receives $200,000 to advance coral restoration technology

An Ohio State University startup has received $200,000 through the Ohio Third Frontier Technology Validation and Start-up Fund to move an innovative coral restoration technology from research toward commercial use. 

UZELA will use the funding to support manufacturing tooling, produce about 100 of its underwater devices and deploy them in pilot projects with coral restoration organizations. 

“Coral feeding is a critical part of coral health, nutrition and survivorship,” said Andrea Grottoli, inventor of the technology, UZELA’s chief technology officer and a distinguished professor of earth sciences at Ohio State. 

UZELA, short for Underwater Zooplankton Enhancement Light Array, is an autonomous, programmable underwater light designed to increase the natural food available to corals. 

The device turns on after dusk, when corals are feeding and zooplankton are moving through the water. 

“Zooplankton are attracted to light like moths to a flame,” Grottoli said. “So the light turns on and it concentrates those zooplankton closer to the light. And when we put the corals around that light, they have more food to eat.” 

The light gives surrounding corals greater access to food, helping support their growth, health and survival. A built-in wiper cleans the lens every 30 minutes, allowing the device to operate for up to six months before needing servicing. 

The technology is designed in part for organizations that grow coral in underwater nurseries before transplanting it onto reefs. By helping corals grow faster and remain healthy during that nursery stage, UZELA could help restoration groups move more viable coral to reefs while reducing the cost of maintaining nursery populations. 

The new funding marks an important step in moving the technology toward broader use. 

“This really is aimed at commercializing the technology, moving it forward from research practice into commercial deployment,” said Nelson Law, CEO of UZELA. 

UZELA expects to test the devices with the Coral Restoration Foundation in Florida and collaborators at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia. The company is also exploring an additionalpilot partner. 

Olivia Reed, UZELA’s chief marketing officer and a 2024 Ohio State graduate with a degree in environmental engineering, said working on the project has shown her how closely aligned organizations across the coral restoration field are around the same goal. 

“Everybody shares the same mission, and that’s saving coral reefs,” Reed said. 

UZELA’s development builds on earlier Ohio Third Frontier support for prototype development, research funding from the Coral Restoration Foundation and the University of Hawaii Foundation, and in-kind support from collaborators in Saudi Arabia. The company is also participating in Rev1 Ventures’ Customer to Capital Accelerator in Columbus, where it is receiving business support, mentorship and guidance as it prepares for commercialization. 

The upcoming pilots will help determine how the technology performs in broader commercial settings and provide a path toward getting it into the hands of more coral restoration practitioners.