Kia and The Ocean Cleanup Partner on the Mission Towards Clean Oceans

The ocean covers more than 71 percent of the Earth's surface and plays a crucial role in regulating climate change, feeding us, and creating livelihoods. It makes life on the planet possible, while it's also fundamental to the global economy's foundation.

Human-induced plastic pollution poses a severe threat to all this. Annually, it is estimated that 1 to 2.4 million tons of plastic waste enter oceans from rivers. To help protect our planet and ensure our well-being, swift action is needed to remove this plastic to prevent it from circulating in our waterways.

The Ocean Cleanup is a Netherlands-based international nonprofit foundation founded in 2013 by Boyan Slat with the mission of ridding the ocean of plastic. By 2018, after several years of research and development, the foundation launched its first ocean cleanup solution, known as System 001, which it gave a trial run in its cleanup of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Located in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and California, it's the largest plastic waste accumulation zone in the oceans, covering an estimated surface area of 1.6 million square kilometers (Nearly 618,000 square miles). The organization launched its Interceptor, a riverine plastic waste extractor used to capture pollutants before they reach the ocean, in 2019 and has since made significant progress in capturing plastic waste in rivers globally.

"We have now captured over 7 million kilograms [nearly 7,395 tons] of trash from oceans and rivers worldwide," said Joost Dubois, the Director of Communications for The Ocean Cleanup, referring to the project's overall results in early November 2023. The non-profit has committed to increasing this number by scaling up the number of ocean cleanup systems and river Interceptors to help remove accumulated plastic from oceans and rivers in the coming years.

A Shared Vision of a Better Tomorrow

Kia Corporation signed a seven-year partnership with The Ocean Cleanup on April 27, 2022. The partnership underscores the company's commitment to a more sustainable planet that combines both automotive innovation and environmental stewardship along with a shared common vision.

"Both Kia and The Ocean Cleanup aim to find ways to exchange resources to help ensure that the plastic catch collected does not re-enter the natural environment," said Duk Hyun Lee, head of Kia's Sustainability Management Group. Our shared goal drives us to collaboratively shape a brighter future." To achieve this, Kia and The Ocean Cleanup are in the process of researching solutions to transform plastics into vehicle materials.

"The Ocean Cleanup is a great partner," said Lee. "We both believe that using innovative technology can make the planet's future better." Kia also provides financial support for cleanup solutions development, construction efforts, supply donations and a fleet of four EVs for use at The Ocean Cleanup's Netherlands headquarters.

The Ocean Cleanup focuses on making an impact through extracting plastic pollution in oceans and rivers globally. According to the World Wildlife Fund, more than 2,000 marine species are impacted by ocean debris, which ravages the marine ecosystem as animals ingest microplastics or get entangled in ropes or discarded fishing nets. "There is a duty to reverse this damage to the marine environment and the wildlife inhabiting it," said Dubois.

Ongoing Impact

The achievements of The Ocean Cleanup have been striking. As of November 2023, it has collected 328,000 kilograms (nearly 330 tons) of plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, preventing it from degrading further into harmful microplastics that would otherwise enter the food chain. The Ocean Cleanup's ambitious target is to clean up 90 percent of the ocean's plastic by 2040. In contrast to other NGOs, The Ocean Cleanup perceives its work as a project – after reaching its target, the organization will cease to exist.

"Kia provides a potential avenue for us to ensure that some of the plastic we catch will be reused responsibly, minimizing the chance of it returning to the natural environment," said Dubois. As part of this cooperative effort, Kia and The Ocean Cleanup are in the process of analyzing and researching the plastic waste collected, with the goal of eventually using the plastics in Kia vehicle accessories.

Innovative Pacific Cleanup

The process of removing plastic waste begins in the Pacific Ocean, at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Roughly the equivalent to twice the size of the state of Texas, it contains 1.8 trillion plastic pieces weighing over 100,000 metric tonnes (slightly over 110,000 tons). Of these, roughly 75 to 86 percent originate from fishing activities and are categorized as Type N plastics. Other categories include hard plastic, preproduction plastics and fragments of foam materials. Understanding the composition of the plastic waste products helps The Ocean Cleanup to better identify the source of pollution and tackle it more efficiently.

The cleanup utilizes a large floating U-shaped barrier, fitted with a shallow underwater screen that is towed slowly through water by two supporting vessels and gathering plastic waste into a retention zone for extraction. "Our biggest single extraction so far removed over 18 tonnes (almost 20 tons) of plastic after five days of sweeping the ocean surface," noted Dubois.

Once towed to the vessel, the plastic is immediately checked, categorized, sorted, packed and readied for onshore recycling by The Ocean Cleanup Catch Management Team, which ensures responsible waste management of materials extracted from rivers and oceans.

Pollution Into Solution

"Ocean plastic has unique material properties, so close collaboration is essential," said Dubois, explaining how the collaboration between The Ocean Cleanup's Catch Management team and Kia's product and material specialists.

In their joint mission to combat plastic pollution, The Ocean Cleanup and Kia are collaborating to explore ways of integrating plastic into Kia's vehicle accessories. For example, both companies are currently in the process of analyzing and researching the collected plastic waste and its properties. Additionally, The Ocean Cleanup's research and development (R&D) team also focuses on odor elimination from processed plastic.

As of now, none of the plastic collected by The Ocean Cleanup has been integrated into Kia vehicle accessories. The ongoing research between both companies aims to introduce the inaugural automobile "accessory" in 2024, utilizing gathered plastic waste.

Empowering Communities Through Data Sharing

Both Kia and The Ocean Cleanup hope to foster and empower local communities in the future by sharing essential research insights. "By using Kia's global network, we are finding ways to create synergies on social impact by collaborating with regional headquarters through local-focused activities," said Lee.

The Ocean Cleanup is building an extensive system that leverages cutting-edge technology to gather data on the origins, transport and fate of river and ocean plastics, and to use this information to help repurpose plastics more efficiently. "We are becoming a leader in ocean and river plastic data," said Dubois, emphasizing the availability of this information for scientific research. The measurements are obtained from various sources such as satellite imagery, artificial-intelligence-assisted recognition software, input from mounted Go-Pros and other camera systems, along with insight from field reports and analysts.

Reinforcing a Harmonious Partnership

Since April 2022, Kia Corporation and The Ocean Cleanup have been collaborating consistently to research and develop innovative methods for potentially integrating some of the ocean-collected plastics into their electric vehicles.

"We are excited about the possibilities to make high-quality products from the ocean catch with The Ocean Cleanup," said Lee. He added that creating a circular value chain is the partnership's ultimate goal—to raise awareness about the global plastic pollution crisis and to prompt others to address this challenge.

Underscored Dubois, "We hope to inspire hope among those who share our belief that global challenges can be solved through persistence, commitment, and collaboration." Through its collaboration with Kia specialists and engineers, as well as its independent research efforts, The Ocean Cleanup demonstrates the potential to convert plastic pollution into a plastic solution, thereby preventing the material ending back up in.