A Message from OPT CEO Philipp Stratmann
I am excited to lead Ocean Power Technologies through this next pivotal phase of transformation and growth. This year marks the beginning of the United Nations’ Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development which emphasizes the use of science and research to reinforce efforts to reverse the deterioration in ocean health, and the Company is well positioned to contribute to these important efforts.
More than 70% of our planet is covered in water, yet we know less about our oceans than we know about some planets. We believe that climate change and natural resource depletion are having a fundamental impact on our societies today and could have an irreversible impact on the future. Therefore, understanding our oceans and safeguarding the resources contained within, above, and below them requires autonomous and clean energy resources. The “Blue Economy” impacts all of us, and here at OPT we are proud to be innovating and working to deliver solutions that help manage its impact.
The Blue Economy, including clean wave energy is supporting the partial electrification of the subsea industry. Our current and planned solutions are ideally suited to enable our customers to lower their cost and carbon emissions that are associated with ocean energy production. This approach is equally true for oil and gas as it is for offshore wind.
I have spent most of my career connected to oceans and energy, including as part of the military and in the defense, oil and gas, and renewables industries. All these sectors rely on large ecosystems of partners. In complex fields, such as Maritime Domain Awareness, OPT will select the most suitable development and go-to-market partners to expand our data as a service. Under my leadership, OPT will adapt a best-in-class approach to deliver value for our customers as well as for our shareholders. We continue to expand our solution offerings. With our recent acquisition of 3Dent Technology a provider of offshore engineering and design services, we now offer our customers strategic consulting services in addition to providing power and data as a service. With our power and energy products as the underlying platforms, OPT can integrate its solutions with a multitude of subsea and surface sensors, vehicles, and other data sources, such as satellite data. With our technology development partners we are working to deliver custom software solutions with edge and cloud computing abilities. With our engineering development partners we are working to upgrade our platforms and to lower installation costs.
OPT’s focus is on delivering products and solutions geared towards marine power, data and services, with an emphasis on sustainability, protection of our ocean resources and being a key contributor towards improving the Blue Economy. Building on our long history of innovation, our goals for fiscal 2022, are to provide essential solutions to our customers, expand our global reach, identify critical partnerships for our future growth, and deliver enhanced value for our shareholders.
I want to thank OPT’s customers, employees, suppliers, partners and shareholders for their continued trust and confidence.
Philipp Stratmann
President & CEO