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A Faster Way to Clean the Oceans: The Ocean Cleanup System 002 Technology Update

4 min read

Sustainable Planet
A Faster Way to Clean the Oceans: The Ocean Cleanup System 002 Technology Update
Source: TheOceanCleanup.com

Dutch entrepreneur Boyan Slat’s The Ocean Cleanup project is about to launch System 002, aimed at cleaning an area equal to 1 soccer field of ocean plastic every 15 seconds.

OceanCleanup’s SYSTEM 002 TO LAUNCH IN JULY, 2021

On Monday, July 5th, 2021 The Ocean Cleanup gave a detailed update on the design of their next ocean cleanup system at the annual IMarEST (Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology) conference. System 002, OceanCleanup’s latest cleanup system, is set to launch end of July 2021. It will be their first large-scale cleanup system and they are hoping for a multifold impact compared to their previous cleanup system – System 001/B.

In about two weeks, The Ocean Cleanup are returning to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) with the next iteration of their ocean cleanup design. Based on their learnings from System 001/B, they have now incorporated active propulsion into the design.
Meet System 002, aka Jenny. In about two weeks, The Ocean Cleanup are returning to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) with the next iteration of their ocean cleanup design. Based on their learnings from System 001/B, they have now incorporated active propulsion into the design. Source: Facebook/TheOceanCleanup

The ocean cleanup TECHNOLOGY ROADMAP

Trash accumulates in five ocean garbage patches, the largest one being the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, located between Hawaii and California. If left to circulate, the plastic will impact our ecosystems, health, and economies. Solving it requires a combination of closing the source, and cleaning up what has already accumulated in the ocean.

The ocean is big. Cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch using conventional methods – vessels and nets – would take thousands of years and tens of billions of dollars to complete. After fleets of The Ocean Cleanup systems are deployed into every ocean gyre, combined with source reduction, The Ocean Cleanup projects to be able to remove 90% of ocean plastic by 2040. 

By trialing technologies, TheOceanCleanup has now confirmed the foundational concept behind their cleanup design: maintaining a relative speed difference between the plastic and the cleanup system to catch and retain plastic in the garbage patches. 

Following System 001/B, which used a parachute anchor to keep the system moving slower than the plastic, they concluded that they could not effectively scale up with this design. 

Therefore, they shifted gears and are now developing a new approach that uses active propulsion to continuously move faster than the plastic (System 002). 

With an actively propelled system, they will be able to catch more plastic quicker and more efficiently because now they can – contrary to the passive approach – steer the systems towards areas with high concentrations of plastic. With System 002, they are now nearing the validation phase for their Ocean project.

Two years ago, Boyan Slat introduced The Interceptor™— the first scalable solution to intercept river plastic pollution — which can be deployed around the world and is capable of extracting between 50 and 100 tonnes of trash per day. Learn more about that here.

Source: TheOceanCleanup

- They can now steer to high-density zones to accelerate the cleanup process - Boosted span, speed, and efficiency = reduced cost/kg of plastic removed - Quicker time to scale up, because of simpler, readily available technology - and if it works, they expect to be able to clean an area equal to 1 soccer pitch of ocean every 15 seconds.
What are the main benefits of the active propulsion system? – They can now steer to high-density zones to accelerate the cleanup process – Boosted span, speed, and efficiency = reduced cost/kg of plastic removed – Quicker time to scale up, because of simpler, readily available technology – and if it works, they expect to be able to clean an area equal to 1 soccer pitch of ocean every 15 seconds. Source: Facebook/TheOceanCleanup

SYSTEM 002 TO LAUNCH IN JULY, 2021

System 002, The Ocean Cleanup’s latest cleanup system, is set to launch end of July 2021. It will be their first large-scale cleanup system and they are hoping for a multifold impact compared to their previous cleanup system – System 001/B. They recently tested the retention zone, which is designed to hold plastic until it’s offloaded. For reference: it is as big as a school bus. Follow OceanCleanup on social media or subscribe to their newsletter for progress updates as they move towards launch. You can watch the full, detailed presentation covering the why, what, and how of the System 002 design by clicking here.

“We finally have a nickname for System 002, heading to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in about a month. Do you see a theme emerging?”
“Our first ocean system, System 001, was nicknamed Wilson.” “We finally have a nickname for System 002, heading to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in about a month. Do you see a theme emerging?” Source: Facebook/TheOceanCleanup
“As we progress towards System 003 and onward, we welcome individuals and companies to join the mission. If you would like more information on how to make a major contribution to help us scale to a fleet of cleanup systems, please contact us.” (details below)
Having the necessary funds, The Ocean Cleanup will deploy System 002 into the Great Pacific Garbage in the summer of 2021. “As we progress towards System 003 and onward, we welcome individuals and companies to join the mission. If you would like more information on how to make a major contribution to help us scale to a fleet of cleanup systems, please contact us.” (details below) Source: Facebook/TheOceanCleanup
“The whole choice of now shifting to adding propulsion was driven just by rationally looking at numbers. (…) Ultimately, what matters is the impact.” - Boyan Slat. Bruno, Lead Computational Modeler, Arjen, Technology Manager, and Boyan, Founder and CEO, give a brief summary of their presentation on the design of our next ocean cleanup system, System 002. Source: Facebook/TheOceanCleanup
Make an Impact

BUY BOYAN SLAT’S OCEAN CLEANUP SUNGLASSES: THE FIRST PRODUCT MADE FROM OCEAN PLASTIC POLLUTION

Netherlands-based non-profit The Ocean Cleanup launches stylish sunglasses made from trash pulled from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, with 100% of the proceeds funding the largest ongoing cleanup operation in history.