SeaChange + InEnTec Partnership Analysis
SeaChange + InEnTec Partnership — Deep Dive (Feb 2026)
TL;DR
SeaChange Ocean Solutions is effectively stalled. No ship built, no operations ever commenced, no news since 2020. InEnTec has pivoted to land-based waste-to-hydrogen. The at-sea plasma processing concept remains unproven by anyone.
SeaChange Ocean Solutions
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2019 |
| Structure | 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 84-2753787) |
| HQ | Bozeman, Montana |
| Website | theseachange.org (still live, still soliciting donations) |
| Founder | Carl Borgquist — CEO of Absaroka Energy LLC, ex-Navy JAG |
| President | Tim Nett — serial entrepreneur, co-founder Streamland Media |
| Status | Dormant — no verifiable activity since 2020 |
What They Planned
- Outfit an existing ship with a containerized InEnTec PEM system (fits in 5 shipping containers)
- First vessel: 2-5 TPD capacity
- Target area: Indonesia (0.5-1.4M tonnes/year entering ocean)
- Hub-and-spoke model: mobile response unit traveling to hotspots
- Byproduct: inert glass slag, potentially usable for coral reef restoration
What Actually Happened
- March 2020: Borgquist visited InEnTec CEO Jeff Surma to examine PEM technology
- Aug-Sep 2020: Wave of media coverage (Inhabitat, Waste360, local Montana news)
- 2021: Planned Indonesia mission — never happened
- 2021-2026: Radio silence
Red Flags
- No IRS Form 990 on GuideStar (no financial data reported)
- Trademark filing (Serial #88494054) has unresolved USPTO office action
- Organization is a "charitable initiative" of Fourth Phase, a division of Absaroka Energy (Borgquist's company) — not independently staffed
- No disclosed grants, government funding, or major donors
- Website still future-tense: "within one year of reaching funding targets"
InEnTec (The Technology Partner)
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1995 |
| HQ | Richland, Washington (near PNNL) |
| CEO | Jeffrey E. Surma — PEM inventor, 45+ publications, 25 US patents |
| Website | inentec.com |
| Deployed systems | 11 PEM facilities in 8 US states + Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia |
PEM Model Lineup
| Model | Capacity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| G100 | ~5 TPD | Original commercial model |
| G100P | ~25 TPD | 500% increase over G100 |
| G500 | 25 TPD | Deployed at Dow Corning, Midland MI |
| G550 | 125 TPD | Large-scale |
| Semi-trailer | 250 TPD | Largest containerized option |
How PEM Works
1. Plastic shredded into small pieces 2. Fed into Plasma Enhanced Melter 3. Plasma arc heats to 10,000-18,000°F 4. Organics → syngas (hydrogen-rich fuel) 5. Inorganics → inert glass slag 6. Zero dioxins/furans (California EPA compliant)InEnTec's Current Focus (2025-2026) — Pivoted Away from Ocean
- Columbia Ridge Facility (Arlington, OR): $8M hydrogen plant, mechanical completion Oct 2025. Uses G100P to convert MSW to fuel-cell-grade hydrogen.
- Hydrogen Utopia International (MENA): Exclusive 10-year PEM license for Middle East/North Africa. Each facility $50-100M, processing 20,000 tonnes/year, producing 4,000 tonnes hydrogen.
- Ocean plastic is not on their current roadmap.
Competition Landscape
Ocean Saviour (UK) + PyroGenesis — DEAD
- 70m catamaran concept, 5 TPD, PyroGenesis plasma
- Est. cost: £40M
- Website SSL expired, no updates since 2018, vessel never built
Ocean Polymers (UK) + InEnTec — Alive but slow
- MoU with InEnTec signed Aug 2018 (predates SeaChange)
- OP1: 60m converted tanker, 10 TPD, 2-feed PEM
- Focus: river mouths (prevention, not open-ocean remediation)
- Acquired Oct 2024, new CFO Jan 2025. Still active at cleanourocean.com
The Manta / SeaCleaners (France) — Most Advanced
- 56m sailboat, 85ft beam, onboard pyrolysis factory
- 1-3 tonnes/hr, 5,000-10,000 tonnes/year
- Bureau Veritas Approval in Principle received
- Uses pyrolysis, not plasma — lower temp, less capable
- Most likely to actually launch (targeting 2025-2026)
GAIA FIRST (Italy) — Active
- Two vessels collecting 50 TPD ghost nets
- Gasification (not plasma) to green hydrogen
- Partners: RINA, BREEZE Ship Design
The Ocean Cleanup (Netherlands) — Collection Only
- Most successful org. Record 2024.
- Does NOT process at sea — collects and ships to shore
What This Means for The Claw
The gap is still wide open. Nobody is doing: 1. Permanent stationed platform (everyone else proposes ships) 2. Plasma gasification at sea of ocean plastic (PAWDS burns shipboard trash, not collected ocean debris) 3. Processing in the GPGP itself (others target rivers or coastal) 4. Collect AND process in place (Ocean Cleanup collects but doesn't process)
The technology partners (InEnTec, PyroGenesis) are still alive and have proven tech — they just haven't been paired with the right deployment model. InEnTec's pivot to hydrogen may actually make them MORE interested in an ocean deployment if pitched as a hydrogen production story rather than just waste disposal.
Sources
- theseachange.org (homepage, blog, impact page)
- inentec.com (deployed PEM, configuration options, executive team)
- Inhabitat, Waste360, Chico Enterprise-Record, Montana Right Now (2020 coverage)
- InEnTec Columbia Ridge press release (Oct 2025)
- Hydrogen Utopia International RNS filings (2025)
- cleanourocean.com (Ocean Polymers)
- Bureau Veritas — The Manta AiP
- GuideStar (EIN 84-2753787)
- Justia Trademarks (Serial #88494054)