Huygens Basin Industries

Huygens Basin Industries was founded in 2160 to make use of Titan's methane and ethane lakes. It refines them into plastics, methalox fuel and chemical feedstock, which it sells across the outer system and to Mars.

Five Cascade Dropships land equipment and lift products from the surface, each carrying 220 tonnes. Three Tempest Ice Runners carry products and water toward Mars, each loading 38,000 tonnes. Two Nimbus Gas Skimmers harvest hydrogen from Saturn's atmosphere for the company's chemical plants. Titan's thick atmosphere and low gravity make it an unusual place to fly. The Cascade's heat shield and parachute-assisted landing system work well there, and Huygens Basin pilots say landing on Titan is easier than on Mars.

The Tempest Ice Runners were adapted to carry liquid hydrocarbons as well as ice. Each costs 520 million credits and has a 160 AU range, enough for the trip to Mars and back. The Nimbus skimmers, which cost 235 million credits each and refuel themselves from Saturn's atmosphere, provide hydrogen for the company's chemical processes at very low cost.

Huygens Basin employs around 2,800 people on Titan, many of them living in the domed settlement of Kraken Harbour on the shore of Titan's largest sea, and it is one of the moon's biggest employers. The company plans to double its Cascade fleet within five years as demand for Titan-made methalox grows.

In 2186 Huygens Basin began supplying methalox to Cascade operators across the Saturn system. Valentina Rojas works with the company from Halcyon's Titan office.