Over recent decades, both summers and winters have been warming, Van der Meijde explains in this Universiteit van Nederland video. As a result, the ground retains heat for much longer. And this stored ground heat is the greatest enemy of natural ice. Even if it freezes overnight, a thin ice layer can melt rapidly during the day due to the warmth rising from the soil. So what if we could block that ground heat more effectively?
Earlier natural ice thanks to bridges
Bridges freeze far more quickly than regular roads because there is no warm soil beneath them to push heat upwards. They cool down much faster. This is dangerous for road users, but an advantage for natural ice rinks. Van der Meijde wondered: could this principle be applied to build a better natural ice rink? A completely ‘floating’ rink may still be science fiction, but the idea set him on the path towards innovations beneath the ice.
Four mini ice rinks as a test laboratory
On the University of Twente campus stands the brand‑new UT FieldLab: home to four mini ice rinks, each measuring 2 by 2 metres. They appear identical on the surface, but beneath that, they differ entirely. By varying insulation, top layers, and material thicknesses, Van der Meijde investigates which construction produces ice the fastest. Sensors installed underneath the rinks – along with a climate tower packed with instruments – continuously measure sunlight, wind, ground heat, and the temperature of every layer in the rink.
Insulation helps, but also introduces new challenges
One of the materials under investigation is foam concrete: extremely light and highly insulating. Van der Meijde explains: ‘Foam concrete has a very high insulation value. We measure that there can be as much as a six‑degree difference between the bottom and the top.’ That means six degrees less heat reaching the ice from below. Or, in other words, water that freezes much more quickly. But insulating too effectively also poses a challenge: the rink must still be able to release heat during the day, so that fresh ice can form again overnight. Finding the right balance is precisely what the UT FieldLab experiment aims to determine.
Watch the University of the Netherlands video embedded above for more information, or visit the UT FieldLab website to learn more about the experiments taking place there.
