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On December 24th, the first weather balloon filled with hydrogen was launched from the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica research station. This milestone marks the firs time hydrogen produced at the station has been put to practical use.

In late December, members of the BELARE team headed to the coast to prepare the site where members of the NISAR and PASPARTOUT projects will install instruments.

Here we see IPF engineer Mathilde Renard and IPF Founder and BELARE Team Leader Alain Hubert inaugurating the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica's new hydrogen production facility, which will be used to supply weather balloons with gas to float up into the atmosphere as they take measurements and eventually the backup generators for the station. Mathilde explains how the process of electrolysis works in the machine.

Planes including the Alfred Wegener Institute's Polar 6 aircraft at the PEA Airfield getting ready to take off to conduct aerial surveys of the the ice margin at the coast for the international RINGS project. Each year the International Polar Foundation assists scientists working on this project managed by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR).

Etienne Legrain from the VUB was interviewed before heading out to the Nansen Blue Ice Fields to to do fieldwork for the FROID project in December 2024 and January 2025. The project is hoping to find million year-old ice that will give clues about past climates.

Dr. Maaike Izeboud from the VUB was interviewed before heading out to the Nansen Blue Ice Fields to to do fieldwork for the FROID project in December 2024 and January 2025. The project is hoping to find million year-old ice that will give clues about past climates.

This panel examined the current European and North American security landscape with regard to the Arctic and whether or not “low tension” continues to be a characteristic of security in the Arctic. The panel will discuss measures that can be taken to try and keep the Arctic an area of low tension in spite of the current geopolitical situation and increased military activity along the new NATO-Russia border in the Arctic. At the same time, it is important not to ignore the threats the Arctic 7 face in light of the new geopolitical situation. Can the right balance be struck?

This panel asked, "What can the EU do to promote responsible mining in the Arctic? What is the EU willing to invest to get the CRM it needs?" With the Arctic warming up to seven percent faster than the rest of the planet, nowhere else is the need to address climate change more urgently. The key to mitigating its effects lies in the energy transition, which is inextricably linked to the mining of critical raw materials. The European Arctic offers enormous potential for mining CRMs, confirmed most recently by the new rare earths deposit adjacent to the existing Kiruna mine in northern Sweden. The European Arctic is also home to the Saami, Europe’s only indigenous peoples, a non-indigenous rural population that struggles with out-migration and extraordinary natural landscapes important for mitigating climate change while also providing business opportunities in tourism and forestry. Europe has long been at the vanguard of the sustainability movement and European policy-makers insist it can remain so as mining can and will be done responsibly. But what is responsible mining in the European context and can mining be responsible if there are communities in opposition? Who wins and who loses? And should those most directly affected have the right to say no?

This panel looks at labour, social acceptance, energy, investments and other key elements needed in building a culture of sustainable entrepreneurship in the High North.