With environmental concerns over climate change on the rise, environmental startup Real Ice is looking to refreeze arctic ice to fight the melting caused by climate change.
The UK-based startup was founded by a team of students and graduates from Bangor University in Wales to provide a solution to the arctic ice sheet melting in cooperation with indigenous people living in the affected regions.
The approach consists of the use of solar-powered pumps that suck water from beneath the arctic ice to create a lake on the surface. The natural temperature of the region in addition to the exposure to air ensures the water freezes, reinforcing and replenishing the ice sheet.
While simple in nature, the startup will need to implement its product on a scale wide enough for it to have a noticeable impact on the local environment. For this purpose, Real Ice has partnered with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and is working on finding investors to back its efforts
The project is expected to count on the support of local indigenous people who have been the most affected by the phenomenon, and approach that the team expects will help further boost adoption of its technology.
Joseph D’Cruz, special adviser for strategic planning at the UNDP, referred to this model by stating,
“It won’t solve the bigger problem of Arctic sea ice – it’s not a solution for climate change but it will help to prevent damage to the way of life of indigenous people and at the same time, Inuit can use the solution as a means to generate income from carbon credits,”
The environmental startup’s mission is not to fix climate change but, “aim to contact and include indigenous people. We have their interests at heart.” With climate change becoming one of the biggest topics of discussion in global policy making, the time seems right for startups like Real Ice to make an impact.
