Recreating ice in the Arctic. This is the crazy project of the British start-up Real Ice which is working with scientists to develop technology supposed to solve the problem of melting glaciers.
According to CNN, the team has been conducting tests in the Arctic for two years. The first ones took place in Alaska and were mainly aimed at verifying that the equipment worked and could withstand the intense cold. Last January, Real Ice entrepreneurs and scientists were able to test their technology in the small coastal village of Cambridge Bay, Canada. According to them, their experience showed rather convincing results.
An ambitious idea
Real Ice's plan to protect this icy ocean landscape involves inserting submersible electric pumps beneath the ice to pump water from the sea and bring it to the surface. The water freezes, accumulating into a huge puddle, creating an additional layer of ice.
Epic journey around the Arctic Circle
A new round of testing in Cambridge Bay began in November and has covered 430,000 square feet so far. “During the first ten days of the test, the ice was already 10 cm thicker in the tested locations” assured Andrea Ceccolini, co-general director of Real Ice.
Their ultimate goal is to thicken the Arctic ice by more than 600,000 square kilometers – an area more than twice the size of California – in order to slow or even reverse the melting of the ice. To make this project a reality, they believe they can automate the process using underwater drones approximately 1.5 meters long, powered by green hydrogen. Far from being affordable, this project would cost between 5 and 6 billion dollars per year.
A project that arouses much controversy
The idea developed by Real Ice is part of many controversial geoengineering proposals aimed at saving the planet's vulnerable polar regions. In November 2024, a report co-written by dozens of scientists warns of the potentially harmful effects represented by the multiplication of its polar geoengineering projects, pointing in particular to the environmental risks of too much human influx in the Arctic.
The innovation developed by Real Ice is judged “extremely questionable” by Liz Bagshaw, Associate Professor in Polar Environmental Change at the University of Bristol. For good reason, it could ultimately have unforeseen harmful effects on the environment. “Such interventions are, at best, morally dubious and, at worst, ethically irresponsible” she lambasted CNN.
Faced with this influx of criticism, Mr Ceccolnini does not deny that the project could lead to changes in the marine environment – for example, on the growth of algae which can be affected by the thickness of the ice – but he believes that doing nothing to limit the melting of the ice would be even more dramatic for the protection of ecosystems.
