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Engineering, Oceans

The Final Design of the World’s First Cleanup System

On May 11th, 2017 we unveiled our new method to clean up the world's ocean garbage patches. Instead of having one massive cleanup system fixed to the seabed, we unveiled…

21 July 2018 Boyan Slat
In May 2018, a 120-meter section of the system successfully passed a tow test in the Pacific Ocean, being subjected to waves of up to 5 meters.
Engineering, Oceans

Successful Tow Test Validates System 001 Seaworthiness

On May 19th, from our assembly yard in Alameda, a 120-meter section of our cleanup system was towed out of San Francisco Bay and into the Pacific to conduct a…

2 July 2018 Arjen Tjallema
State secretary Stientje van Veldhoven and Boyan Slat, signing an agreement
General, Global affairs

The Dutch State to support The Ocean Cleanup’s high seas activities

Today, we entered into an agreement with the Netherlands relating to the deployment of our cleanup systems on the high seas. The agreement deals with matters such as safety of…

8 June 2018
Oceans

System 001 Tow Test Explained

We have successfully initiated our 120-meter tow test unit towards its designated test pattern approximately 50 nautical miles outside of San Francisco’s Golden Gate. This is an important test before…

19 May 2018
Engineering, Oceans

System 001 Assembly: 120-meter Tow Test Unit Completed

To meet our ambitious goals of deploying the first ocean cleanup system this summer, we are reminded of one of our basic design principles here at The Ocean Cleanup: doing…

11 May 2018
Hundreds of scale model tests were conducted throughout the years to refine the design and predict the behavior and performance of the system
Engineering, Oceans, Testing

Looking Back on our Most Advanced Scale Model Test to Date

Before we share some great news on the System 001 assembly front, we wanted to provide you with an update on our recent scale model tests, the most advanced we…

7 May 2018 Arjen Tjallema
Oceans, Research

The Exponential Increase of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

After three years of research including two field expeditions, extensive laboratory experiments and data analyses, we are thrilled to finally release the results of our study on the infamous Great…

22 March 2018 Laurent Lebreton
Oceans, Testing

Unscheduled Learning Opportunities on the North Sea

A new ocean cleanup prototype is being deployed on the North Sea today. It is one of the last steps as we prepare to launch the first cleanup system in…

20 February 2018 Boyan Slat
Oceans

The Ocean Cleanup Signs Lease for Alameda Assembly Yard

The Ocean Cleanup and the City of Alameda announced today that they have signed a lease agreement for portions of the former Alameda Naval Air Station, a peninsula now known…

13 February 2018
Environment, Research

How Ocean Plastics Turn into a Dangerous Meal

Our research team has just published a new article in the journal Environmental Science and Technology revealing that plastics within the Great Pacific Garbage Patch are loaded with pollutants at…

21 December 2017 Julia Reisser
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