Bachmann Electronic contributes a small but significant part to this effort.
The Neumayer Station III of the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), is located on the edge of the Antarctic mainland and serves as the base for German Antarctic research.
Built in 2009 on 250 meters of thick floating ice, it accommodates up to 60 people during the summer months. Until now, diesel generators supplied energy to the research facilities. The three diesel generators, each with a capacity of 160 kW, consumed between 350 and 500 tons of diesel annually. This resulted in the emission of approximately one million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in the name of research.
However, this is now set to change. Under the framework of the Antarctic Treaty for Environmental Protection, the share of renewable energy in the station’s energy balance is to be significantly increased through enhanced use of wind and solar power.
This plan requires detailed preparation: The icebreaker Polarstern departs Bremerhaven each year in late summer for its Antarctic expedition, traveling halfway around the world and transporting all necessary equipment to the opposite side of the globe during the multi-month research journey. The timeframe for carrying out work in Antarctica is extremely tight. All tasks must be completed during the so-called summer season, which lasts from November to February. In the polar winter, the station becomes quieter and darker: Between May and September, only a chef, three engineers, a doctor, and four scientists remain. They form the overwintering team, enduring the harsh polar night.
Many of the measures to retrofit the research station are of a pioneering nature. This includes the installation of a vertical-axis wind turbine with a rotor diameter of ten meters. It supports the station’s combined heat and power plant with up to 50 kilowatts and complements the older horizontal-axis system, which struggled with numerous technical issues under extreme weather conditions.
