Researchers from TU Delft and Cambridge University collaborate on innovative methods to combat climate change

For over a year and a half, researchers from TU Delft and the Cambridge University Centre for Climate Repair have worked together on groundbreaking techniques to increase the reflectivity of clouds in the fight against global warming. During a two-day meeting, the teams are discussing their progress.

Researchers at Cambridge are focusing on the technical development of a system that can spray seawater, releasing tiny salt crystals into the atmosphere to brighten the clouds. The team from TU Delft, led by Prof. Dr. Ir. Herman Russchenberg, scientific director of the TU Delft Climate Action Program and professor of Atmospheric Remote Sensing, is studying the physical effects of this technique.

Prof. Russchenberg emphasizes the importance of this research: "We have now taken the first steps towards developing emergency measures against climate change. If it proves necessary, we must be prepared to implement these techniques. Ideally, we wouldn't need to use them, but it's important to investigate how they work now."

Prof. Dr. Ir. Stefan Aarninkhof, dean of the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, expresses pride in the team as the first results of this unique collaboration are becoming visible.

If the researchers in Delft and Cambridge can demonstrate the potential of the concept, the first small-scale experiments will responsibly begin within a year.

This research has been made possible thanks to the long-term support from the Refreeze the Arctic Foundation, founded by family of TU Delft alumnus Marc Salzer Levi. Such generous contributions enable innovative and high-impact research that addresses urgent global challenges like climate change.

Large donations like these enable the pursuit of innovative, high-impact research that may not otherwise be feasible, demonstrating how our collective effort and investment in science can lead to real, transformative solutions for global challenges like climate change.

This article was first published on 27 September by TU Delft.