Following his success in removing 1,500 tons of rubbish from Antarctica and with the foresight and support of the Russian Antarctic Division, Robert Swan stood at the Bellingshausen Russian base on King George Island looking down on the beach that had been cleaned. From that moment he believed that an education station in Antarctica, where the world could see the beauty of this incredible continent, would inspire and educate people around the world about climate change and play a crucial role in promoting renewable energy, preservation and conservation for future generations.

Since 2003, Robert Swan and the 2041 team have taken over 150 people from 25 nations to Antarctica. Each year these teams have contributed to the design and construction of what would be known as the E-Base.

The E-Base serves as a model for educational, environmental and energy issues. Its purpose is to inspire a global audience to tackle the issue of climate change. It shows that if we can achieve the seemingly impossible in Antarctica, then we can all take small, achievable steps in our own backyards.

The E-Base Goes Live

For the ‘E-Base Goes Live’ project, Robert will be living at the E-Base for two weeks, relying completely on renewable energy. Using the latest in satellite, internet and digital media technologies, he will be sharing his message on renewable energy and climate change with an international audience.

Throughout the project, live text and video conference links with schools and organizations will allow Robert to showcase alternative energy sources in one of the harshest environments on the planet.

E-Base Location

The E-Base is located at Bellingshausen Station, a Russian Antarctic station at Collins Harbor on King George Island, the largest of the South Shetland Islands, located at 62°12’S, 58°58’W.

A Sustainable Base for the Future

The E-Base is a sustainable green building, constructed from carefully selected post-consumer recycled materials.

One cornerstone of sustainable design is to retain as many resources as possible within a community. However, as there are no building materials produced in Antarctica, the decision was made to use sustainable building materials, such as structurally insulated panels from WinterPanel, 100 percent post consumer recycled rubber interior flooring from EcoSurfaces and an energy star watertight blanket with low VOCs for the roof and siding from Metacrylics.