Obart helps Arctic re-freeze
13 September 2021
Obart Pumps is providing vital support to a fascinating project that aims to to re-freeze areas of the Arctic. It’s being tried as a way of combating climate change and supporting indigenous communities.
The Maidstone-based supplier, which is a subsidiary of Tsurumi Europe GmbH, has donated a Tsurumi submersible pump to a start-up business called Real Ice based in North Wales, which is co-ordinating the initiative. It is a community interest company (CIC), a type of business designed for social enterprises.
Global warming impacts local Inuit communities by obstructing transport and traditional livelihoods. It also affects polar bears, seals, walruses and other wildlife relying on stable sea ice to hunt and breed.
Real Ice has designed a wind-powered machine (pictured below) that drills through the polar ice to pump water from underneath, which then forms a new layer on the surface in the minus 50 degree C conditions.
Since a greater area of ice cover will reflect more solar radiation back into space, the machine should reverse the effects of global warming.
Protected in an insulated housing at the bottom of the drilled hole, the Tsurumi pump will be powered by electricity generated from a renewable source to lift the water.
The Real Ice team will test a prototype machine at the Canadian High Arctic Research Station in Cambridge Bay from November to March 2022. The final unit will be 5m tall, powered by a 10m diameter wind turbine and fitted with a central drill assembly to bore through the ice.
Operating the machine and moving it to new locations to increase the ice formation is intended to provide an income for local people. Its relatively small size and low weight means it can be transported with motor-powered snowmobiles.
Cian Sherwin, managing director of Real Ice, said: “We are delighted to be using the Tsurumi pump to incorporate into our re-icing machine prototype and allow our CIC to begin a crucial testing stage in the Arctic to prove how well it performs under the wintry conditions of the great northern regions of Canada. We wish to thank Obart and Tsurumi and look forward to collaborating with them in the future.”
Pete McMutrie, sales director at Obart Pumps added: “We are really excited to be supporting this fantastic project. We quickly enlisted the help of the technical team at Tsurumi Europe, who were delighted to provide the information and analysis for the pump that will be installed in the re-icing machine.
“Initiatives such as this should be applauded and supported with the aim of improving local communities and benefiting the environment in the future,” he said.
The Real Ice company was founded by a team of graduates and students from Bangor University.
Picture above: Hans-Jurgen Mager/Unsplash
● For more Site-Eco stories click here. And to subscribe for regular updates click here.
