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In December 2021, the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica, the world's first zero-emission research station, welcomed a team from Venturi who were testing the first electric vehicle with caterpillar treads in Antarctica. Radio Monaco conducted an interview with Alain Hubert (IPF Founder and BELARe Expedition Leader), Gildo Pastor (President of Venturi) and Luc Jacquet (Filmmaker known for March of the Emperor Penguins) on December 3, 2021.

May 14th, 2021: The sun sets for the last time during the austral autumn of 2021 at the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica, the world's first zero-emission polar research station. The polar night has now begun. The sun will not rise again until July 29th.Footage was taken from webcams at the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica.Music: A New Sleep by Arden Forest

In this video, which features spectacular drone footage of the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica, we learn how the station has been undergoing upgrades over the last several seasons. With a new heated garage featuring carpentry and metal workshops, and an annex with additional sleeping quarters, extra storage space, an exercise room, and other amenities, the station is now more than ever ready to welcome researchers from Belgium and around the world!

Scientists from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) talk about their glaciology research projects and share with us their experiences after returning from the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica station.

Zorigto Namsaraev is a microbiologist and works as a researcher-scientist at the Center for Protein Engineering at the University of Liège (Belgium). In the framework of the BELDIVA project, he studies one of the few indigenous life forms in Antarctica known as cyanobacteria.

For those who don't know, a windscoop is a special kind of ice configuration created by the action of the wind brushing up against the landscape. It's basically a bowl-like depression in the ice that is reminiscent of an ice-cream scoop. It forms near obstructions such as rocks.There is one windscoop next to Utsteinen, which never ceases to impress scientists, newcomers and seasoned veterans visiting the station. We thought it would be nice to show people what it looks like through a small video.The International Polar Foundation would like to thank T.A.G.E.O. for giving us the rights to use their music as the soundtrack for this video. 

From Cape Town, South Africa, the Ivan Papanin, a Russian ship, reached the coast of Crown Bay on December 21st, 2008. Aboard the ship were building materials, technical equipment and some pieces of interior woodwork - everything needed to finish building the Princess Elisabeth station before the end of the IPY in March 2009. Alain Hubert and a team arrived on-site to offload the containers.

The first thing which had to be done after the team members had arrived at Utsteinen was the setting up of base camp. And the first tents to be mounted were the "mess" and "office" tents, the two most important rooms of the entire base camp. This is where team members cook, eat, socialise, plan the field work and carry out satellite telecommunications...

Upon their arrival at Utsteinen, the members of BELARE 2008-2009 found the entrance to the garage covered by huge piles of snow. The same was true for everything else left outside from last year's expedition. The snow in front of the garage entrance was piled up almost to the roof. The station, on the other hand, we found to be completely uncovered by snow, just as the wind tunnel tests on a model of the station had predicted.