Joost den Haan

Joost is CEO and Co-founder at planblue. He’s been an active diver for 17+ years and has seen the seafoor literally degrade in front of his eyes. His passion for protecting our oceans initially drove him down a scientifc path (MSc, PhD, postdoc). In 2017, he started the company planblue with his co-founders, raising signifcant public and private investments to literally put the seafoor on the map again. Why? The seafoor plays a key role in mitigating the climate crisis, as it harbours the best carbon sequestration tools nature has to ofer, such as seagrass meadows. To help unlock the economic and ecological potential of the seafoor, planblue developed the world’s first underwater satellite and associated software platform, the SeafoorAtlas. By combining advanced imaging, underwater navigation and AI, planblue ground-truths aerial and satellite imagery to, for example, help unlock blue carbon credits on a global scale - starting with seagrass meadows. Joost has given talks worldwide, including a TEDx, to champion the seafoor’s protection and sustainable use.