Project Earth 300

A 13-STOREY ‘SCIENCE SPHERE’ ON BOARD AN EXPLORER VESSEL, EARTH 300 IS LARGE ENOUGH TO ACCOMMODATE 160 SCIENTISTS AND 22 STATE-OF-THE-ART LABORATORIES WHO TOGETHER will collaborate on new climate solutions with the help of the ship’s advanced technology. Set for launch in 2025, Earth 300 boasts a fascinating 300m in length and will be fully packed with green technology. The vessel is bigger than the Titanic and will be among some of the largest ships in the world.

ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF AARON OLIVERA. Earth 300 founder and Chief Executive Aaron Olivera’s vision is to build a nuclear-powered ship dedicated to science, ocean exploration, and climate change awareness. Behind the design of the ship is International firm Iddes Yachts, led by naval architect Iván Salas Jefferson. Suitably futuristic, the bold new concept features a contemporary shape with a pared-down conceptual language and an aerodynamic form. Polish naval architecture firm NED worked alongside Iddes Yachts in finessing Earth 300’s otherworldly design, which is perforated with a pattern of geometric shapes extending towards the nose of the ship.

Essentially, the ship will be built as a floating computer, as most of the vessel will be filled with scientific equipment that a fleet of climate scientists will use to capture real-time data. A combination of built-in sensors, artificial intelligence, robotics, machine learning and real-time data processing will make sense of the data, as well as the world’s first commercial, ocean-going quantum computer. All the information gathered will be open-source and shared with other climate scientists as part of the mission to unite both science and exploration to take on some of the biggest challenges on earth.

Powered by atomic energy, the zero-emission superyacht is powered by an onboard molten salt reactor based on technology being pursued by companies like Moltex, Thorcon, Samsung and Seaborg. It’s a first, as quantum computing and a molten salt reactor have never before been installed on a ship. Mr Olivera and his consortium are championing nuclear power from a new breed of nuclear reactors that use molten salt as both coolant and fuel. These reactors (Marine Molten Salt Reactor, or m-MSR) were first developed in the United States in the 1960s. Ultimately, they were replaced by lightwater

reactors, which became standard for nuclear energy production. The US Navy powers its ships on pressurised water reactors. As this extraordinary initiative caught our attention, we asked Mr Olivera some questions that arose regarding Earth 300.

First of all, could you give us a short introduction of yourself and how you became involved in this innovative project?

Mr Olivera: I was born in Gibraltar, studied in the UK, and have lived in Singapore for most of my adult life. I’ve been an entrepreneur all my life and experienced working in a myriad of industries. Back in 2015, I found myself in the Maldives where I was developing a resort project. Whilst there, I went for a dive and saw bleached corals, they were dead. I learnt that with excess carbon we are poisoning our oceans, killing sea life, and that if the oceans die we will too, as 70% of oxygen that we breathe comes from the oceans. I found myself in Monaco a short while later when I was President of Royal Falcon Yachts. I visited the oceanographic museum where Jacques Cousteau was a director and I thought of his vessel Calypso and of being able to take people on grand scientific journeys, along with the greatest minds, explorers, scientists, and industrialists, and to go on a learning journey together. Finally, I thought that if we want to solve issues quickly, we needed the help of the entire world. The idea of galvanising humanity by building an iconic object that would inspire the world was a no brainer. I worked together with Iddes Yachts in Barcelona to have a yacht designed as a scientific sculpture for the seas, as a universal symbol for sustainability and for >>

humanity, one that would capture people’s attention, hearts, and imaginations on a global scale. Those were really the three main ingredients that resulted in Earth 300; realising that we are killing the planet, realising that we could use luxury to advance science, and finally building a global vehicle to galvanise civilisation.

What would be the advantages of building a science centre on sea instead of on land?

Mr Olivera: There are four advantages and reasons for this. Firstly, if we want to effect global change, we will need a global vehicle. A ship is truly global, it can move around the world transporting ideas and know-how from continent to continent and visit 150 non-landlocked nations. Secondly, a ship offers an immersive environment. When taking the most intelligent and influential group of people and placing them at sea, where they face adventure and danger together, the kind of bonds that are built are very different to those if they would meet in a building on land. The fact that they are placed together inside a beautiful and inspiring environment means you have a genius cluster where these people are going to manufacture miracles. Thirdly, the oceans are the beating heart of the planet, and without water there can be no life. They act as a buffer by absorbing 50% of all excess carbon, so it makes sense to explore them all around the world. Lastly, the idea of being mobile means you have inbuilt adventure and excitement and the

surprise element, which is also critical for new bonds and ideas to germinate. We all remember the voyages of Jacques Cousteau and the Calypso going on grand romantic journeys in the name of science and greatness. When was the last time you had an adventure inside a static building?

Where will this gigayacht be built?

Mr Olivera: The shipyard will most likely be in Germany or in South Korea where we have well-established links.

Now that the design has been completed, do you have an estimation of when construction will commence?

Mr Olivera: To clarify, what we have completed is the preliminary naval engineering. We still need to engage in further engineering design, and this will take another 12-18 months, at which point we should be ready to start building.

Why did you opt for nuclear power from a new type of nuclear reactor that uses MSR technology?

Mr Olivera: We have considered the Molten Salt Reactors (MSRs) because you can literally fuel up and go at 32 knots for 30 years without refuelling, not to mention they are safe and sustainable, with almost zero waste There’s no way at present that other energy systems can deliver this. We would also like to state that we are currently open to other technologies. If better solutions are developed in the next four years, we are open to looking into these. In fact, regarding the MSRs there is a variety of suppliers and we have not yet chosen or signed any agreements with any of them.

Who are some of the key suppliers for the construction of Earth 300?

Mr Olivera: The shipyard will be the main supplier, then we have really large engineering companies like Wärtsilä with whom we have signed an MOU to work together, and we have partnered with NED Project to complete the vessel’s naval engineering. There will be many more suppliers and we are presently in talks with around ten major candidates for items like coatings and satellites. And we have of course also signed an MOU with IBM for supplying the advanced technology.