Location
Locating icebergs around the clock using satellite technology.
It all starts with the search for a suitable iceberg. Using the latest satellite technology, we search target areas in the South Atlantic around the 60th parallel south. Because searching for icebergs on a ship expedition over an area of over a million square kilometres is not only uneconomical, but also extremely environmentally unfriendly.
By using satellite technology, we can examine entire regions in real time, and around the clock. Using these technological possibilities, we not only find out how many icebergs there are in the target region; we also receive information about the iceberg’s position, speed, class, volume, dimensions, temperature, melting behaviour, and projections about movements.
This allows us to precisely determine and select the icebergs that are suitable for us. This is ideal for preparing efficient routing – for short transport times and a high level of sustainability.
Routing
We apply fully digitised routing to calculate today what will happen tomorrow.
Calculating the ideal routing is a very complex task. Many influencing factors can impair the routing, e.g. weather conditions, ocean currents at different depths, wind loads, the volume and shape of the icebergs above and below water, as well as powerful ocean tugboats.
We rely on digital processes and automatic calculation models which take all influential factors into account. In addition to the current data, we rely on all the findings from the past decades to predict the weather conditions and requirements for our passage.
Transport
We move 4 billion litres of drinking water in 33 days – with one transport operation.
For us, transport means pulling and towing ice. To successfully implement this process, we not only use state-of-the-art and high-performance deep-sea tugboats.
This also requires an almost perfect connection between the ship and the iceberg. A towing harness resembling a snow chain is used for this purpose. It’s lighter than water, harder than steel, and as flexible as rubber, in order to minimise transport costs. Thanks to the modular structure, it can even be repaired during transport.
The towing harness is scalable and can be adapted to fit any iceberg. Reusable and inexpensive. The materials used have been tried and tested over many years and are extremely resilient. This makes our towing equipment reusable and inexpensive.
Anchoring
Controlled anchoring – for our safety and for the safety of our environment.
Leaving an iceberg to its own devices in a warm region poses an increased risk for everyone. It’s a risk to nature, because a free-floating iceberg can drift aground on a coast and destroy the ocean floor in the process. It’s a risk to trade routes, as container ships may collide with the iceberg. It’s a risk for authorities, as they are not familiar with handling challenges such as these. And for us, because we can’t obtain water from a drifting iceberg.
We anchor every iceberg in a controlled manner. To do this, we rely on a reusable anchoring system that secures large icebergs, does not have a negative impact on the environment, and does not destroy the seabed.
Waterstation
Water extraction in the water – mobile and flexible.
The Waterstation is a floating platform equipped with the latest water and analysis technology to pump, filter and control water. The Waterstation is configured in such a way that we can position it at any relevant base.
The water is pumped into floating waterbags via the Waterstation. We filter it there for maximum purity and safety. Continuous analyses guarantee the highest level of quality. Because we are subject to the highest security regulations, we get to the bottom of every piece of information.
Technologically, we are able to analyse every drop of water in milliseconds, even before it reaches the waterbags. We publish information about the water quality, flow rates, age, and much more.
Storage
Storage of drinking water without using energy.
It is one thing to transport billions of litres of water from one place to another via a block of ice, and therefore in solid form. It is a different matter to store the liquid drinking water obtained from it. Doing that on land is not an option. This is because we would need many square kilometres of storage space and large amounts of energy to keep it in a frozen state.
The solution is in the water. As large tankers are not a solution for environmental and economic reasons, we rely entirely on waterbags. Thousands to tens of thousands of tonnes of drinking water can be stored in a waterbag without requiring energy. The water stays fresh due to the cold temperature of the sea. This is how we work CO2-neutrally.
Distribution
The storage units are also the means of transport.
We have long thought about how water reaches the people. The greatest challenge continues to be the transport of the drinking water obtained. We solved this problem efficiently.
Because here, too, we rely on our waterbags, which serve as both storage units and as a means of transport. This means we can reduce the expense and increase safety when distributing drinking water. When water is needed, the waterbags are towed to the respective port using small boats.
Environmental protection
Early advice and support instead of troubleshooting.
Environmental protection is still a difficult issue for many companies. But there is no alternative to sustainable business. We work together with NGOs in order to identify avoidable errors at an early stage.
In addition, we use the most state-of the-art and, at the same time, most environmentally-friendly technology in every area, in order to keep our CO2 emissions as low as possible. We compensate for the remainder of emissions by purchasing CO2 certificates.
However, our goal is to achieve real climate neutrality.