At the start of 2020, our plan is to launch System 002, followed by the scale-up to the full fleet of 60 systems in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Once we complete the expansion in the Pacific, we aim to then expand the cleanup operation to the remaining four ocean garbage patches.

While System 001 should be seen as a beta system to test our technology, System 002 will be built on the lessons learned from System 001 and with an additional focus – preparing the design for full-scale roll-out.

To finance the fleet, we welcome companies and individuals to sponsor one or multiple cleanup systems. By recycling the collected plastic into valuable products, we aim to make the cleanup fleet, to a large extent, financially self-sustainable. Our objective is to valorize as much of the harvest as technically and commercially possible. We aim for ‘zero waste’ operations, with no debris ending up in a landfill.

The five gyres, in order of amount of plastic
The five gyres, in order of amount of plastic

The plastic that circulates in the five gyres has been accumulating over the past 60+ years and will not go away by itself. Instead, the material breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces over time. At a certain level, these nano- and microparticles will become too small to collect. It is, therefore, crucial to begin cleaning up as soon as possible and defuse this ticking time bomb.

In the future, once we have managed the gyres, we are also considering developing alternative systems closer to the source, to intercept plastic before it reaches the ocean.

Is your company interested in being part of our scale-up, by funding your own cleanup system? Please send us an email via our website contact form, to discuss a potential collaboration opportunity.