Aquilo 閳?The Frozen Planet Survival and Research Guide

Aquilo is where Factorio stops being a factory game and starts being a survival game.

Solar panels produce nothing here. Steam engines freeze solid. Roboports go dark. Every building is either generating heat or dying of cold.

Ice Is Your Power Grid

Ice is Aquilo's primary resource and its entire power infrastructure. You mine it, burn it, and convert the heat into both warmth and electricity.

Step	Building	Output
Mine ice	Burner mining drill	Ice chunks
Burn ice	Electric smelter (array)	Heat + steam
Generate power	Steam turbine	~500 kW per 4 smelters
Distribute heat	Heat pipe network	Keeps buildings above freezing

The math: 1 ice-burning smelter produces ~125 kW of usable power (after 25% turbine efficiency). A 4-smelter heat plant powers a small factory at ~500 kW. Scale smelters to match demand.

The Heating Network

Smelters burning ice radiate heat through heat pipes. Every building on Aquilo needs this:

• Assembling
  Assemblers 閳?freeze = production stops
• Roboport
  Roboports 閳?freeze = logistic network shuts down, bots return to nests
• Roboport
  Substations 閳?freeze = power grid flickers
• Inserter
  Inserters 閳?freeze = belts back up

Heat pipes transfer warmth 4 tiles per pipe segment. Use underground heat pipes to span large distances. Place your smelter array at the center of your factory for even coverage.

Lithium: Import It

Lithium is essential for

batteries, cryogenic science packs, and Quality Module 5 components. Aquilo surface deposits are rare and small 閳?insufficient for sustained production.

Source: Gleba. Lithium is a common byproduct in Gleba's bio-processing chain. Export lithium ore via space platform. If you don't have Gleba running yet, mine the pale green surface patches sparingly 閳?you'll need every chunk.

Cryogenic Science Chain

Aquilo's unique research output:

1. Ice 閳?power the factory (heat plant)
2. Lithium 閳?lithium batteries
3. Battery + ice + advanced circuit 閳?cryogenic science pack
4. Research unlocks: Quality Module 5, space platform upgrades, ultimate energy storage

Quality Module 5 is the capstone 閳?+10% base productivity over Module 4 with quality bonuses on top. A rocket silo with 4 QM5s produces 50%+ more rockets per resource than with PM3s.

What Veterans Learn the Hard Way

• Solar panel
  Solar panels are useless here 閳?they produce power but zero heat. You still need the ice smelter array.
• Build compact 閳?every tile of heat pipe costs smelter output. Sprawling layouts = heat distribution nightmare.
• Import aggressively 閳?Aquilo is a specialized research facility, not a self-sufficient planet. Import construction bots, nuclear fuel cells, spare parts.
• Roboport
  Heat roboports directly 閳?don't rely on proximity to warm buildings. Dedicated heat pipe connections prevent bot network collapse.

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Consequence
No heat buffer	One smelter stalls 閳?entire factory freezes
Relying on solar for power	Power works, heat doesn't 閳?everything still freezes
Mining all local lithium upfront	Depletes stockpile before science chain is stable
Spread-out factory layout	Heat can't reach outer buildings 閳?they freeze

The Bottom Line

Aquilo demands compact layouts, continuous heat, and imported lithium. The strategy: burn ice for heat first, power second. Import everything possible. Extract cryogenic science and QM5 research. Everything else serves that goal.

---

Related: Vulcanus Guide | Space Platform Guide