Artic Reflections

From greenhouse to cold: Metazet provides custom solutions for the Arctic

As a company based in the Westland region – the heart of Dutch greenhouse horticulture – we are accustomed to developing innovative solutions for controlled growing environments. However, when Arctic Reflections approached us for a project on the sea ice of Canada, it presented a unique challenge, even for us.

An Ice machine for the climate

Arctic Reflections is a young organization with an ambitious goal: artificially thickening sea ice to slow down the melting of Arctic ice. This ice acts like a mirror—it reflects sunlight and heat back into space. Without this reflective surface, the Earth warms much faster. Using specialized drilling and pumping systems, Arctic Reflections aims to pump water onto the ice during winter and let it freeze, thereby increasing its thickness and ensuring it lasts longer during the summer. This is similar to the way layered ice is built up on outdoor skating tracks. While we utilize the greenhouse effect in horticulture to retain heat, this project helps to protect the Earth from additional warming by ensuring that polar ice continues to reflect sunlight.

Together with engineering firms TWD and HEFCOM, we developed two prototypes of this ‘ice maker’ in record time. The system drills through the ice, pumps underlying water up, and artificially thickens the ice layer.

Beyond horticulture

Our role began with making an initial design manufacturable, but we soon took on detailed engineering, production, assembly, project management, and preparing it for transport. In just one and a half months, we built two complete units, tested them, adjusted them, and made them ready for transport to Canada. Under the leadership of engineer Yorben van der Eijk, colleagues from various departments worked intensively together to complete the project on time. And all this during a period when others were decorating Christmas trees: work continued in evenings and weekends—even between Christmas and New Year’s—to meet the strict deadline. This deadline was crucial because testing on the ice can only occur in the short winter period between November and March. After that, the ice is no longer thick and stable enough, and the temperature is too high to build up ice.

During the design process, we encountered various challenges. Everything had to withstand temperatures as low as -50°C and be fully demountable for transport in a container. We translated the original design into a modular system made of galvanized steel, with smart couplings for the drill and pump, a lift system operable by one person, and a frame that was immediately deployable on-site—without additional assembly. We also developed custom parts in our own workshop, allowing us to quickly adapt when something needed to be adjusted.

Collaboration is key

The strength of this project lay not only in technology but also in collaboration. TWD brought the initial design to the table, HEFCOM provided the hydraulic technology, and we took the lead in making the whole thing manufacturable and realizable.

Thanks to our broad expertise and short lines of communication, we could make quick decisions and execute them. We opened our workshop, adjusted parts on-site, and took responsibility at critical moments. For us, it’s natural: seeing what’s needed and then just getting to work. “The conditions were extreme, but that’s actually how we like to work: the more challenging the question, the more creative we become. Everyone gave it their all – from engineer to sheet metal worker – and that makes me really proud of our team,” says Luke van Adrichem, Managing Director of Metazet.

This mentality was also noticed by Arctic Reflections. COO Tom Meijeraan described our approach as ‘proactive’: “Metazet continuously thought along with solutions for problems we sometimes hadn’t even anticipated. Without their commitment and expertise, we wouldn’t have been able to start the field test on time.“

From first test to future

This first field test with the ‘ice maker’ took place in February and March of this year on the sea ice in Canada. Although there are still areas for improvement, the system worked—and that is an achievement in itself. Data from the field test will follow later this year. Arctic Reflections is working towards scaling up, aiming to thicken 100,000 km² of ice annually—an ambition comparable to twice the size of the Netherlands.

They are currently in the phase of scientific validation. Structural funding—from sponsorships, subsidies, philanthropy, and partnerships—is needed to take the step towards scaling up.

For Metazet, this project was a special experience; not only because it lies far outside our traditional field of work, but especially because it shows what is possible when you combine technical expertise, collaboration, and Westland determination.

With expertise in engineering, steel structures, hydraulics, system integration, and in-house production, we can quickly adapt and deliver solutions that are precise down to the last detail—from concept to realization. Whether it’s high-tech installations in horticulture or robust systems for polar conditions: we have everything in-house to bring complex technical projects to a successful conclusion. And as far as we’re concerned, this was just the beginning.