The Claw — Executive Summary

Status: Active research & pre-development Last updated: 2026-03-04

The Problem

Every year, an estimated 8-12 million tonnes of plastic enters the world's oceans. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) — a 1.6 million km² debris field between Hawaii and California — contains 45,000-129,000 metric tonnes of floating plastic and 3.6 trillion individual pieces. It is the largest accumulation of ocean plastic on Earth.

Current cleanup efforts collect plastic and ship it to shore for recycling or landfill. The Ocean Cleanup, the most advanced effort, has removed ~20 million kg since operations began. But the model has a fundamental inefficiency: plastic is collected 1,000 nautical miles from the nearest port, transported by ship to shore, then trucked to a processing facility. The carbon footprint of the logistics can exceed the environmental benefit of the cleanup.

Nobody processes ocean plastic where they find it.

The Solution

The Claw is a mobile processing vessel — a converted Aframax tanker equipped with plasma gasification technology that vaporizes ocean plastic at sea. Instead of collecting and shipping, The Claw collects and destroys in place.

The core technology is PyroGenesis's PRRS (Plasma Resource Recovery System), a two-step plasma gasification process that:

1. Breaks plastic down in a two-step process — a graphite arc furnace gasifies waste at 1,500°C+ into raw syngas, then an air plasma torch at 5,000°C+ cracks any remaining hydrocarbons into clean syngas (CO + H₂). This is not incineration — it is electrochemical dissociation in an oxygen-starved environment, producing zero dioxins or furans. 2. Recovers the energy — ocean plastic has 35-46 MJ/kg energy density (comparable to petroleum). The syngas powers a gas engine that generates electricity to run the entire vessel

The energy loop closes with surplus. At 5 tonnes/day processing, the system produces 68% more energy than it consumes. The vessel is energy-self-sustaining — it powers itself from the plastic it destroys.

Why This Works

The Vessel

• Hull: Converted second-hand Aframax tanker (18-23 years old, $18-25M acquisition)
• Processing: 1× marinized PRRS plasma reactor (5-10 tonnes/day capacity)
• Power: Syngas-fed Jenbacher gas engine (1-2 MW) + diesel backup for transit
• Crew: 20-28 on 28-day rotations from Honolulu
• Operating cycle: 3 days transit → 20+ days processing → 3 days return
• Helipad: Sized for S-92 helicopter (emergency medevac relay with USCG)

Economics

Capital Cost (Phase 1)

• Hull acquisition: $18-25M
• Conversion & retrofit: $100-130M (at mid-cost shipyard)
• Total CAPEX: ~$111M (mid estimate)

Operating Cost

• Annual OPEX: ~$15-16M/year
• Crew, fuel, consumables, supply vessel, maintenance, insurance

Revenue Streams

• Plastic destruction credits ($500K-1.5M/year at current market rates)
• Carbon credit stacking (potential to double credit revenue)
• Corporate sponsorship & naming rights ($1-3M/year)
• Media & branding (documentary rights, Adopt-a-Tonne programs)
• Methanol synthesis (Phase 1.5) — syngas is the feedstock for green methanol, an emerging marine fuel with exploding demand. Potential $1-5M/year at Phase 1 scale
• Combined Phase 1 revenue: $1.7-7.5M/year

Path to Break-Even

• Phase 1 operates at a deficit (~$8-10M/year gap) — funded by impact capital and grants
• Phase 2 (25 TPD, fleet of 2) approaches break-even with methanol production and scaled credits
• Phase 3 (50-100 TPD) — self-sustaining and fleet-expanding

What's Been Decided

• Platform type: Mobile ship (stationary platform eliminated — mooring at 4,500m depth is prohibitive)
• Processing technology: PyroGenesis PRRS (InEnTec PEM eliminated — molten glass bath incompatible with ship motion)
• Phase 1 scale: 5-10 TPD (matches realistic collection rates)
• Energy model: Self-sustaining from syngas (validated by math, needs real-world testing)
• Revenue model: Blended — credits + sponsorship + methanol (not donation-dependent)

What Needs Validation

• Energy loop with real ocean plastic — wet, salty, biofouled feedstock has never been tested in a plasma reactor. A $2-5M bench test is the critical first milestone.
• Plastic credit certification — no methodology exists for ocean plasma destruction. Verra methodology development takes 12-24 months.
• Regulatory pathway — London Protocol classification of plasma gasification needs a formal legal opinion ($50-100K).
• Collection system design — the interface between ocean and reactor is the hardest unsolved engineering problem.

Funding Requirement

Total through break-even (~Year 5): ~$122M

Target sources:

• Impact investors (Circulate Capital, Breakthrough Energy Ventures): $30-60M
• Government grants (EU Innovation Fund, US DOE, Canada NRC): $15-30M
• Philanthropic foundations (Minderoo, Bezos Earth Fund, Bloomberg): $15-30M
• Corporate sponsorship: $10-20M/year ongoing
• Revenue (credits + methanol): $2-8M/year scaling

Why Now

1. Plasma at sea is proven — PAWDS on USS Gerald R. Ford since 2022 2. Green methanol demand is exploding — 300+ methanol ships on order, Maersk needs 500,000 MT/year, zero Pacific supply exists 3. FuelEU Maritime (Jan 2025) creates mandatory demand for green fuels with EUR 2,400/tonne penalties 4. Ocean plastic awareness is at an all-time high — corporate ESG commitments create buyer demand 5. PyroGenesis is financially distressed (CA$0.1M cash) — creating a window for favorable technology licensing terms

Next Steps

1. Secure formal legal opinion on London Protocol classification ($50-100K) 2. Engage DNV or Lloyd's for Approval in Principle of a novel vessel concept ($50-200K) 3. Commission bench test of plasma gasification with real GPGP plastic feedstock ($2-5M) 4. Negotiate technology license with PyroGenesis while favorable terms exist 5. Develop Verra methodology for ocean plastic destruction credits (12-24 months)

Total pre-capital de-risking: $2.5-5.5M — validates or kills the project before committing $100M+.