Delft-based Arctic Reflections selected for UK public funding to help protect Arctic sea ice

Delft-based Arctic Reflections, a company with a mission to restore Arctic sea ice to counter global warming, announced that it has been selected as one of the projects funded by the United Kingdom’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) under Exploring Climate Cooling programme.

Alongside the University of Cambridge, University of Manchester, UCL, and Real Ice, the Dutch company will co-lead an ambitious £9.9M  (approximately €11.7M)research initiative to investigate whether winter ice thickening can help reduce summer melt and preserve Arctic sea ice.

With £56.8M (approximately €67.3M) allocated to 21 high-potential projects, the ARIA programme aims to accelerate research into safe, scalable climate interventions.

The funding will contribute to a further set of field tests in the Canadian Arctic, aimed at validating the radiative cooling impact of artificial ice thickening while maintaining the highest standards for environmental safety.

Arctic Ice Thickening

Arctic Reflections will receive support to further develop and test its Arctic Ice Thickening methodology.

In collaboration with Hayo Hendrikse and Laura van Dijke from TU Delft, Arctic Reflections has developed a simple yet effective solution – thickening the sea ice by pumping seawater onto the ice during the winter months to expedite ice growth. 

The surface area of Arctic summer sea ice has halved over the past decades.

The team’s approach involves creating ice at specific locations around the Arctic Ocean and then transporting it into Arctic waters using existing ocean currents. 

By optimising the ice distribution process and using larger pumps, the researchers estimate that the number of installations required to save 100,000 square kilometres of ice could be reduced from thousands to just 100 to 1,000.

Arctic Reflections is part of a consortium consisting of the University of Cambridge, University of Manchester, University College London, Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center, University of Washington, Arizona State University, and Real Ice, led by Shaun Fitzgerald of the Cambridge Centre for Climate Repair.

“We’re very happy and honored to be among the projects funded by ARIA,” says Fonger Ypma, CEO of Arctic Reflections.

“This support allows us to deepen our scientific understanding and work transparently with public institutions to determine the viability and safety of ice thickening as a climate cooling measure. I am especially proud that the programme also funds our pioneering work on strengthening of naturally formed ice arches, as a potential way to limit sea ice export out of the Arctic,” Ypma.

Replicating Arctic temperatures

According to Arctic Reflection, the team used a university cold room to replicate Arctic temperatures and filled a series of coolers with a combination of fresh water and the appropriate amount of sea salt. 

This “ice lab” enables the team to test their hypotheses about ice growth under various conditions and different methods. The hypotheses validated in the lab will be tested in real Arctic environments during this field test.