Overview
OceanX is a green venture series on the development of an on-the-sea living space platform that integrates sustainable housing, green transport and renewable energy solutions and provides shared functions across development, investment and management of living spaces on the sea. It is developed and run in a model of open collaboration by a pool of investors, for profit and non-profit organizations and individuals who share the same mission – to bring sustainable on-the-sea living spaces to global community against the negative impact of climate change including the sea level rise, storms and flood and more.
Southeast Asia is among the regions of the world hardest hit by climate change according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report) and other documentations. The impacts of sea level rise include reduction of living land, loss of homes, loss of lives and livelihoods, loss of tourism, recreation, and transportation functions, etc. Among them, loss of transportation functions at coastlines, islands and on the sea areas is one of most critical impacts.
OceanX sandbox is an initiative to combines funding, R&D, small scale production of new hardware products and software deployment on AI-based offshore cargo transport technologies and pilot projects in actual service environments in one place including support on basic facilities and regulations from local authorities in regions to help all value chain actors and stakeholders who are involved in OceanX ecosystem to collaborate together in common pilot projects.
The OceanX sandbox series in Vietnam is the first development in Southeast Asia.
Mission
Creating an AI-based offshore green transport living lab of the world for the future
Vision
Sea area around ASEAN countries (area within the redline) is a living laboratory in which some of these AI-enabled transport systems can reach maturity through live experiments and constant, quick reiteration.
OceanX sandbox series is the epicenter to turn Southeast Asia into one of the main innovation hubs in the world.
There are things that technology developers can do in the OceanX sandboxes that they could not do in a normal context.
The development will be carried out on a sandbox by sandbox on a national basis, then sandboxes are integrated step by step from national to regional scale to create an AI-based offshore green transport space of the whole Southeast Asia region.
Aim
The aim of the OceanX sandbox project in Southeast Asia is to achieve safe, sustainable, socially accepted and socially beneficial offshore green transportation in the region. The project represents all value chain actors and stakeholders as either technology developers on mobility solutions (investee companies and members of the sandbox) or project partners (agencies of ASEAN countries, major customers, technology & service providers).
Different technologies and solutions will be R&D, produced in the sandbox then combined in different cases among them and with external technology sources to conduct real life pilot projects validating technologies in a real environment.
Objectives
Sandbox space
The space of each sandbox consists of two components: i) Interior space of sandbox that include its own land, water, air space for R&D, small scale production, exhibitions, conferences and other activities of a technology hub; ii) Exterior space where sandbox companies are allowed to carry out pilot transportation projects for real needs such as drones carrying goods from offshore ships to the ports or drones flying within the port's internal premises.
Technology
Technologies are supplied by either technology developers (investee companies and members of the OceanX sandboxes) or project partners like technology & service providers, vehicle manufacturers.
Vehicles
Different clean fueled vehicle technologies in offshore transportation are developed and deployed. Typical vehicles include cargo UAV, seagliders, methanol ships, solar barges.
Floating Terminals
Including floating river ports and seaports with integration of vertiports used for UAV. The floating terminal is connected with existing seaports in the country.
Command and Control Center
An AI-powered center that manages, commands and controls all demand-supply transport activities within OceanX sandbox’s spaces, will be developed in which to be its brain - The AI OpenX software, is a virtual management software that allows for secure automated operations, monitoring commercial transport traffic (manned and unmanned), weather, and other sensor data. This data is presented to the operators in the Operations Control Centre of each OceanX sandbox.
OpenX software will be developed by the OpenAir Technologies team.
Partnership
The OceanX sandbox series in each country is coordinated by a local OpenAir company and is supported by a consortium of complementary partners that are bound together through natural synergies. The consortium has tried to ensure that maximum use is made of the individual experience and expertise of the different participants and guarantee complementarity of the partners and their activities within the context of the project. With this in mind, the OceanX sandbox consortium members have been carefully selected to cover all relevant research areas involved in the project in a well-balanced manner, utilizing their expertise and prior collaborations to match the project’s objectives successfully.
The partnership structure is based on complementarity, trans-nationality and multi-disciplinarily. In more detail, the rationale for selecting organizations into OceanX sandbox project consortium was to achieve:
- Balanced consortium with an adequate inclusion of experts in all research domains of OceanX sandbox project,
- Strong industry presence (including SME and education authorities' representation) ensuring interest in commercialisation and sustainability of project results,
- High profile organizations for user involvement in the project,
- High exploitation and dissemination potential and
- Top quality level of management.
Each of the partners undertakes one or more relevant roles that are required from the project based on their expertise i.e., researchers, municipalities, transport authorities and policy makers, project management experts and on-the-sea mobility experts.
Pilot projects
The OceanX sandbox’s pilot project showcases applications of AI-based offshore green transport technologies that are viable and robust throughout the territorial sea of ASEAN countries.
We are validating the results achieved by enhancing the real demonstrations through large-scale simulations in order to test the maximum service capacity and then further validating our results by simulating demonstrations at both nationally and regional scale (among some ASEAN countries) where the real AI-based offshore transport service demos are taking place. Lessons learnt are documented in a Performance Assessment and recommendations report, providing refinements to the current offshore transport technologies and their creating measurable indicators which will enable them to include in the regional transport planning and set relevant measurable goals aligned with the current master planning and standards of ASEAN community.
Funding
Created and managed by OpenPass Holdings and its financial institution partners (abbreviation: Partners), OceanX fund is a series of late stage venture capital and early growth private equity investment funds that focus on AI-based offshore green transport technologies and solutions against the negative impact of global climate change. The funds will raise third-party capital from investors who are committed to achieving a net zero world while also seeking to obtain long-term sustainable financial returns.
This is an initiative to create a new funding and investment model to support the development of OceanX that combines funding, R&D, small production scale of new offshore green transport technologies, products and solutions as well as their commercialization.
OceanX Fund 1 is the first fund that focuses on clean fueled vehicle technologies and their infrastructures used in OceanX sandbox series in Southeast Asia.