San Diego City Wire

San Diego's Cup Harbor will utilize carbonless ecoSPEARS clean water technology as part of a two-year pilot program called the Blue Economy Incubator, which is hosted by the Port of San Diego, a press release reported.

The company's technology offers cities a carbon neutral approach to environmental cleanup of toxic contaminants such Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), which have been found in Cup Harbor. 

“Our Blue Economy Incubator program seeks groundbreaking ways to protect the environment and San Diego Bay. The results of this pilot project have the potential to demonstrate an innovative win-win approach to a long-time pollution problem in waters worldwide,” Commissioner Rafael Castellanos, Port of San Diego Board of Port Commissioners, said.

Unlike other environmental technologies, ecoSPEARS is the sole licensee of NASA-developed technologies, which in this case is formally known as Sorbent Polymer Extraction and Remediation System (SPEARS). This technology is designed to absorb PCBs in a sponge-like manner from sediment found at the bottom of large bodies of water where large percentages of contaminants and other toxic substances are contained. 

PCBs have been used as a flame retardant since 1929 in the majority of electrical products such as transformers and capacitors. In 1979 they were officially banned but can still be widely found in a plethora of objects, making them incredibly difficult to deal with. 

“We are extremely excited about our relationship with the Port of San Diego and its Blue Economy Incubator,” Serg Albino, CEO of ecoSPEARS, said. “Areas like America’s Cup Harbor – where dredging and capping options are challenging – are prime candidates for our technology. We are fortunate to have a forward-thinking steward of the bay in the Port of San Diego that pushes the status quo when it comes to implementing clean innovation.”

The new technology was set to be deployed in Cup Harbor on Dec. 14.