Boyan Slat
Founder & CEO, The Ocean Cleanup Environmental Systems Engineer
About
Boyan Slat is a Dutch environmental entrepreneur and the founder & CEO of The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit engineering initiative developing scalable technologies to remove plastic pollution from oceans and rivers.
He founded The Ocean Cleanup in 2013 after a TEDx talk (2012) about using passive systems and ocean currents to concentrate and remove floating plastic, he began the project as a high-school project and dropped out of aerospace engineering studies to focus on the organisation.
Slat’s approach combines marine and systems engineering with large-scale deployment (ocean systems and river interceptors) and partnerships to both remove existing pollution and prevent new plastic from reaching the oceans.
Achievements & Awards
UN Champions of the Earth Inspiration & Action
Youngest recipient of the UN Environment Programme’s Champions of the Earth award (Inspiration & Action).
TIME One of the 25 Best Inventions (The Ocean Cleanup)
The Ocean Cleanup / system featured by TIME among notable inventions and innovations.
Forbes 30 Under 30
Named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list for social impact / environment.
Ventures & Companies
The Ocean Cleanup
Develops and scales technologies to intercept plastic in rivers (Interceptor) and capture floating plastic in ocean garbage patches (ocean systems). The organisation aims to remove the majority of floating ocean plastic by 2040 while preventing further inflows via river cleanup programs.
About Boyan Slat
Boyan Slat is a Dutch environmental entrepreneur and the founder & CEO of The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit engineering initiative developing scalable technologies to remove plastic pollution from oceans...
He founded The Ocean Cleanup in 2013 after a TEDx talk (2012) about using passive systems and ocean currents to concentrate and remove floating plastic, he began the project as a high-school project and dropped out of aerospace engineering studies to focus on the organisation.
Slat’s approach combines marine and systems engineering with large-scale deployment (ocean systems and river interceptors) and partnerships to both remove existing pollution and prevent new plastic from reaching the oceans.
Professional Experience
Founder & CEO at The Ocean Cleanup
Develops and scales technologies to intercept plastic in rivers (Interceptor) and capture floating plastic in ocean garbage patches (ocean systems). The organisation aims to remove the majority of floating ocean plastic by 2040 while preventing further inflows via river cleanup programs.
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