This $700 million superyacht is a climate-research vessel that runs entirely on nuclear power

Forget Jeff Bezos’ superyacht, the Earth 300 Climate Research Vessel is so large, it even puts the Titanic to shame.

Designed to be 300 meters in length and capped with a 13-story-high ‘science sphere’ on top, the Earth 300 was conceptualized by naval architect Iván Salas Jefferson (founder of Iddes Yachts) as the torchbearer of global science, allowing us as a species “to expand our knowledge and understanding of the universe, both above and below the ocean’s surface.” It comes equipped with 22 state-of-the-art laboratories for research, a cantilevered observation deck, and has space for 160 scientists (along with dozens of other experts and student researchers), 164 crew members operating the vessel, and finally 40 additional slots for ‘VIP guests’. However, here’s the most impressive part of the Earth 300 vessel… it runs entirely on ‘clean’ nuclear energy.

The Earth 300 vessel boasts of an incredibly captivating design, with its ‘floating marble on a surfboard’ aesthetic that’s supposed to resemble the planet earth on a path to the future. The vessel has an almost sculptural quality to it, of which designer Iván Salas Jefferson said “We wanted to create a design that would inspire. When one looks at the sphere, we want them to be inspired to protect Earth. When one walks into the sphere, now housing the science city, and feels the action of all the ongoing scientific works, we want them to be inspired to become an alchemist of global solutions.”

Expected to set sail as soon as 2025, the Earth 300 vessel is currently being constructed by Polish naval architecture firm NED. The construction of the gigayacht is projected to cost anywhere between $500-700 million, and prominent backers of this project include names like IBM, Triton Submarines, EYOS Expeditions, and RINA, an international leader in maritime safety. The Earth 300 will also be powered by a unique ‘Molten Salt Reactor’, a new generation of atomic energy that’s safe, sustainable, 100% emission-free, and is developed by TerraPower – the nuclear innovation company founded by Bill Gates.

“The oceans are dying,” Salas Jefferson mentioned to Architectural Digest in an interview. “Having been born in Palma de Mallorca, I’ve seen it firsthand in the Mediterranean. Now is the time to reboot, reconnect, and redirect our planet’s destiny. Our oceans keep us—and our planet—alive, and Earth 300’s mission is to protect our oceans and ensure their health for generations to come.” Space may be the future, Salas Jefferson says, but “today, Earth is our only home.”

Designer: Iván Salas Jefferson (Iddes Yachts)

Aurora recycles nuclear waste into clean energy while supporting local art!

The Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in America has been crucial in shaping the future of nuclear energy technology ever since its inception. With all that experimenting and development, the lab has generated several tons of toxic uranium waste that can longer be efficiently used. The problem is, nobody knows where to bury this gigantic amount of waste and it is currently being piled up in temporary storage facilities – but we know nothing good comes out of bottling up toxic waste (or emotions). There has to be a better alternative than having our homes and schools being built on a sea of uranium waste.

The scientists at INL are working on ways to use the spent uranium and one of them is recycling it for the fuel needs of new smaller commercial reactors. INL reached out to Oklo, a nuclear energy start-up, to explore this opportunity using their Aurora reactor – a revolutionary clean energy plant the company made to power communities with affordable, reliable, clean power. The advanced fission plant has many advantages apart from its ability to produce clean power for lifetimes despite its small size, it can go decades without being refueled and the design allows it to be underground which means it can operate without cooling water. The Aurora will be converting nuclear waste to clean energy while posting as a cabin in the woods that generates 1.5 megawatts. “The cool thing about advanced reactors is you can go to those higher levels of enrichment and make things smaller, which helps drive the economics of the system,” says Jacob DeWitte, CEO and co-founder of Oklo, about using ‘Haleu’ (high-assay, low-enriched uranium) as their choice of fuel.

Aurora powerhouse is also designed to be the focal point for community interaction while keeping practicality in mind. The sloped modular roof works for most weather conditions and also serves as a support for solar photovoltaic panels. In turn, the solar panels also serve as a canvas for local art and the front of the Aurora can be used by the people as a community spot. “We are excited to think about how fission could both enable human development while preserving the environment on earth, and even enable deeper space exploration,” said Caroline Cochran, COO, and co-founder of Oklo. when talking about Aurora’s well-rounded presence in the low-carbon microgrid and we couldn’t agree more! Idaho will be home to this beautiful cabin-in-the-woods shaped clean reactor and also the giant potato-shaped Airbnb, we don’t know how that happened but it is a lovely juxtaposition.

Designer: Oklo

Three Mile Island’s infamous nuclear plant shuts down after 45 years

An important if ignominious chapter in American nuclear energy has come to a close. Exelon has shut down Three Mile Island's Generating Station Unit 1 reactor after 45 years of use. The reactor isn't the one behind the accident in March 1979, but t...

Lockheed Martin Say It Will Be Making Truck Sized Fusion Reactors Within the Decade

There’s no good solution to our energy problems right now. Solar and wind power are helping, but they’re not the quick and easy fix that the American public demands. Germany has managed to use solar and wind power for 17% of its energy needs, but that’s still just a drop in the bucket. The thing we’re all waiting for, but has never arrived, much like Dr. Dre’s Detox or or a Lincoln that’s not just a Ford wearing a mustache, is nuclear fusion.

lockheed fusion reactor 620x387magnify

According to a press release and video from Lockheed Martin, we might only have to wait a few more years. The company claims to have a design for a reactor that would fit in a shipping container and produce enough energy to power 80,000 homes. That’s huge news. Of course, being a defense contractor, when the first tests start happening in five years, it will probably be on Navy vessels, but the potential for emissions-free planes with unlimited range and very fast space ships is quite real as well. Lockheed also says that distributing these as powerplants around the world would not further the proliferation of nuclear weapons, since a fusion bomb and a fusion reactor are built so differently.

On a more pragmatic note, the fact that this is being developed by Lockheed is also a very good thing. Oil companies have a lot to lose from this much energy being available from sources that have nothing to do with oil, but Lockheed certainly owns enough politicians to push back hard.

The future is going to be cool.

[via Lockheed Martin]

Is Shutting Working Nuclear Plants Jeopardizing Obama’s Climate Goals?


Concern is mounting in the Obama Administration over a growing number of nuclear reactors that are being closed prematurely. For the wrong reasons. On Thursday, Dr. Peter Lyons, Assistant Secretary...

Nuclear Energy Operators Say Market Stacked Against Them


When Entergy Corp. made its decision to close its Vermont Yankee nuclear facility,  it opened the door to discussions on how to allow all electric generating facilities fair access to the...

We Can’t Expect a Reliable Energy Future Without Talking Water


It’s no secret that electricity generation requires substantial amounts of water, and different energy sources require varying amounts of water. Nor is it a surprise that Texas and other areas in the...
    






Stuxnet pinned on US and Israel as an out-of-control creation

Stuxnet pinned on US and Israel as an outofcontrol creation

Ever since Stuxnet was discovered, most of the accusing fingers have been pointed at the US, Israel or both, whether or not there was any evidence; it was hard to ignore malware that seemed tailor-made for wrecking Iranian centrifuges and slowing down the country's nuclear development. As it turns out, Occam's Razor is in full effect. An exposé from the New York Times matter-of-factly claims that the US and Israel coded Stuxnet as part of a cyberwar op, Olympic Games, and snuck it on to a USB thumb drive that infected computers at the Natanz nuclear facility. The reason we know about the infection at all, insiders say, is that it got out of control: someone modified the code or otherwise got it to spread through an infected PC carried outside, pushing Obama to either double down (which he did) or back off. Despite all its connections, the newspaper couldn't confirm whether or not the new Flame malware attack is another US creation. Tipsters did, however, deny that Flame is part of the Olympic Games push -- raising the possibility that there are other agencies at work.

[Image credit: David Holt, Flickr]

Stuxnet pinned on US and Israel as an out-of-control creation originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jun 2012 14:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Ars Technica  |  sourceNew York Times  | Email this | Comments