About

Imagine most of the human population living on seasteads near the equator, using Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) and Salt Water Air Conditioning (SWAC), aquaculture and hydroponics for food, desalinated water to drink, hydrogen and methane for fuel. All these things can be available in abundance in this hurricane free zone around the world. Most natural disasters won’t be an issue, and storms will be limited in strength by the rotation of the earth. People could freely move their homes, businesses, and communities around as desired, redefining governance and borders. All the minerals from land exist in the ocean, and can be mined through OTEC. Creating opportunities for marine life to thrive will reduce co2 in the atmosphere, and generally clean up existing pollutants in air and water. Reducing dependence on land for food and housing allows nature to thrive, further benefiting the earth. Eventually, living on seasteads on the ocean will create so much abundance it will be nearly free to live there, especially as land creation and food collection become automated.

Even outer space opens up, with floating spaceports, space cannons, and eventually space elevators. High speed transportation on earth can go full circle around the equator with clean energy. This might seem pretty utopian and futuristic, but the potential exists, and it isn’t far away. Simply creating a better life with more opportunity on seasteads than on land will cause people to come there, and so create a better world.

Arktide is focused on research and development of ocean based technologies:

  • Energy generation from wave, tides, currents, and thermocline
  • Aquaculture, with a focus on polyculture to mimic wild ocean habitats
  • Sargassum collection to protect beaches
  • Restoration of existing sea life, including coral reefs and wild fish populations
  • Clean water through energy efficient desalination
  • Saltwater mineral extraction technologies
  • Hurricane and flood proof housing development
  • Inexpensive floating structures to support these technologies, as well as provide useful above water area for research and tourism
  • Materials that are non-corrosive and impermeable for these structures and other components in support of the above Arktide is also partnered with academic, non-profit, and for-profit organizations:
  • University of Puerto Rico – Mayaguez: materials and marine science departments primarily
  • Carbon Removal XPRIZE team: competing for the $50m grand prize funded by Elon Musk to remove a gigaton of co2 from the atmosphere by 2026
  • Cleantech Open incubator company: with mentorship from the Deep Blue Institute
  • Tampa Bay Wave incubator company
  • The Seasteading Institute

Co-Founders

Ben Silone

CEO / Co-Founder

Ben Silone has a personal mission to help our planet and its people. He grew up as a homeschooled student and this enabled him to pursue his educational interest in the world and its environment. His father was a contractor and Ben built his career around real estate and project management. His work brought him all over the world, including relief & development efforts in Iraq, anti-piracy systems in Africa, and fighting human trafficking.

Mike Doty

Advisor

Mike sees ocean development as a means to promote a sustainably abundant economy. The open ocean has the potential to supply sufficient energy, food, water, and industrial feedstocks for the entire planet while restoring the oceans to peak health. His background is in mechanical engineering from the aerospace, automotive, medical, and consumer products industries.

His goal is to extend the cutting edge technology from these areas into the marine environment for permanent habitation and production.