FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
We strive to address all questions regarding our solution with answers grounded in professional research and collaboration between Norwegian and international research institutions. We aim to develop our technology in a way that maintains the trust of the people and the local communities where we operate. We consider this as crucial in our work to contribute to a sustainable future in areas and communities exposed to Tropical Cyclones.
If you can't find an answer to your question in the FAQ below, feel free to reach out through our contact form.
A correctly dimensioned and designed bubble curtain system may prevent storm systems from growing into devastating Tropical Cyclones or stop an already developed Tropical Cyclone from increasing its strength as long as Tropical Cyclone is heading into the well-mixed, downstream area of the bubble curtain system.
When the criterion above is fulfilled, the hurricane will stop or reduce its growth, thus diminishing the damages.
No, it is an underwater system not visible in the surface.
Yes, these systems will be completely submerged several tens of meters below the surface.
Bubble curtain systems deployed in Norway have been in operation for more than 50 years without larger maintenance or replacements.
Further engineering and exhaustive testing will be required for safe deployment at scale in the context of Tropical Cyclone mitigation.
There is no expectation of any impact on the marine life. A scientific study on potential ecological impacts will be performed by an independent research organization prior to system deployment.
The CO2-footprint is mainly related to the power consumption of the compressors during the hurricane season (estimation is 20 days/year). The social cost of the CO2-footprint caused by the power consumption is expected to represent an insignificant fraction of the avoided costs of reducing the Sea-Surface Temperatures (SST) and thus the damage from hurricanes.
A deep-water field test performed in the Fall of 2019 confirmed the viability of the bubble curtain system for depths down to 50 meters. Additional testing is needed to confirm technology viability at deeper depths.
In 2021, we concluded our Virtual Proof of Concept study in collaboration with SINTEF, where a bubble curtain representation was modelled through a coupling of the SURE (gas) and SINMOD (ocean) models to simulate our concept. The study validates our principles, and temporary cooling of the water column was achieved at scale.
A bubble curtain system consists of one or more perforated pipes at some depth in the ocean, through which compressed air is led.
The ascending air form bubbles which entrain the surrounding water and generate an artificial upwelling of deep water towards the surface. When the upward flow reaches the surface layer, they mix and as long as the rising water is colder than the surface water, the surface temperature will decrease. When strategically positioned in the area we wish to influence, also considering the ocean currents, this will lead to colder surface waters in the path of the Tropical Cyclone.
The main difference is that this Tropical Cyclone mitigation system is deployed at an intermediate depth of the ocean and therefore does not obstruct marine traffic in any way. It also does not include any chemical or biological additives (except for clean air).
Moreover, our cooling method will create a well-mixed water column from where the bubble curtains are positioned in the depth, a crucial aspect as Tropical Cyclones draw energy from the top 50 meters of the ocean, approximately.
For most types of losses to the U.S. economy caused by hurricane winds and storm-related flooding, expected annual costs total $54 billion, Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates, equivalent to 0.3 percent of United States' current gross domestic product. That total consists of $34 billion in expected annual economic losses to the residential sector, $9 billion to commercial businesses, and $12 billion to the public sector.
As an example, research suggests that a 1-degree Celsius reduction in SST may lead to a 10 percent reduction in the “Damage to GDP” ratio, which would be a reduction of $5.4 billion in damages per year in the United States, on average, according to the CBO estimate.
Seeing the devastating damages caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 motivated Olav to come up with the idea behind OceanTherm. With 1833 lives lost in addition to enormous damages, we all asked ourselves “how did this hurricane become so strong?”
For more information, visit the Our Story page.
We are always looking for bright minds to join us on our journey. If you are interested in doing your internship with us, please reach out trough our contact form.
Please send your request through our contact form.
For information about our technology and the challenge we seek to solve, please visit our “How It Works” page.
We are financed with support from Innovation Norway and The Norwegian Research Council, as well as some private investments.
Anyone can donate to support our mission and help us realize the next step! Any amount is highly appreciated! For transparency, we want to make it clear that we are currently made up of two for-profit entities: OceanTherm AS in Norway and OceanTherm Inc. Public Benefit Corporation in the US.
We are actively looking to raise funds from investors. Please see our Investor Relations page for more information, or reach out to us through our contact form.
Thank you for wanting to join us on our journey! If you want to partner with us in any way, shape, or form, please reach out through our contact form.
You can also donate to support our mission and help us realize the next step! Any amount is highly appreciated! For transparency, we want to make it clear that we are currently made up of two for-profit entities: OceanTherm AS in Norway and OceanTherm Inc. Public Benefit Corporation in the US.
Thank you for wanting to join the movement! Please reach out through our contact form and tell us a little bit about yourself and how you wish to contribute!
You can also donate to support our mission and help us realize the next step! Any amount is highly appreciated! For transparency, we want to make it clear that we are currently made up of two for-profit entities: OceanTherm AS in Norway and OceanTherm Inc. Public Benefit Corporation in the US.
Thank you for your interest in OceanTherm and for wanting to help reduce the damage from hurricanes. Feel free to share the OceanTherm mission through word of mouth or over social media with your network.
You can also donate to support our mission and help us realize the next step! Any amount is highly appreciated! For transparency, we want to make it clear that we are currently made up of two for-profit entities: OceanTherm AS in Norway and OceanTherm Inc. Public Benefit Corporation in the US.
We are happy to hear that you want to help! If you have a research vessel that you think could help us and be available to us in any of our research activities, please reach out through our contact form.
Thank you for your interest in raising funds for us!
Facebook has a fundraising tool that you can use as an individual. Be sure to check if there are any ongoing OceanTherm campaigns that you could link to.
If you are a company and would like to raise funds for OceanTherm, please reach out through our contact form. You can share our page and invite anyone to donate to support our mission and help us realize the next step! Any amount is highly appreciated! For transparency, we want to make it clear that we are currently made up of two for-profit entities: OceanTherm AS in Norway and OceanTherm Inc. Public Benefit Corporation in the US.