TIME Names Svalbard Global Seed Vault Among 25 Iconic Inventions
The October 2022 Svalbard Global Seed Vault Deposit. (Photo: Luis Salazar/Crop Trust)9 October 2025
TIME has named the Svalbard Global Seed Vault one of the 25 most iconic inventions of the past quarter century.
“Superman had it right: if you want to keep something safe, build a mountain fortress above the Arctic Circle,” TIME writes, describing the Seed Vault’s role as the world’s ultimate backup for crop diversity – ensuring that vital seed collections can be recovered if they are lost in genebanks.
Deep inside a mountain on an island in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, the Seed Vault acts as the world’s safety deposit box, safeguarding duplicate seed samples from genebanks around the world. Two visionaries, Dr Cary Fowler and Dr Geoffrey Hawtin, played key roles in its creation and were jointly awarded the 2024 World Food Prize for their lifelong commitment to safeguarding crop diversity.
The facility is co-managed by the Government of Norway, the Nordic Genetic Resources Center (NordGen), and the Crop Trust.
By naming the Seed Vault alongside the iPhone, YouTube and ChatGPT, TIME recognizes that inventions need not be digital to be impactful, though it helps to have a cool location.
Category: For The Press