Track C · Ilua Light & Energy Programme
The geometry of the structure is the energy strategy.
At 61° N, light and energy cannot be added afterwards. Ilua treats light, heat, storage, crop choice and operating season as one integrated design basis.
Phase 1 screens the viable route between seasonal extension, soft-winter operation and later renewable winter capacity.
The programme
Three integrated components.
C1, C2 and C3 are developed as one system for the Narsarsuaq operating envelope — not as three add-ons. All three components integrate from the first design and measurement phase.
C1 · Light Concept
Passive light optimisation
Cover materials, spectral control, light geometry and crop selection designed to maximise yield from the light actually available at 61°N. We maximise natural spectrum and geometry before considering active augmentation. This minimises winter power demand.
C2 · Energy Engineering
Energy supply partnership
Arctic-specialist partners can provide power systems, controls and battery storage; Ilua specifies the performance needs and coordinates the design. Several candidates are in dialogue. Names and details are announced only when agreements are formal and public.
C3 · Storage Phase 2 build
Thermal mass and storage
Passive: the Ilua Sunyard berm wall acts as structural thermal mass, capturing daytime sun and re-radiating it on frost nights. Integrated: Arctic Ilua includes thermal energy storage (e.g. a sand battery), designed in from the first sketch rather than added afterwards.
Status & integration
A coordinated layer across the greenhouse and the microclimate.
Light & Energy is system integration: it combines established research on passive solar gain, thermal mass and thermal energy storage (TES) with newer work on Arctic and sub-Arctic energy supply.
It develops thermal energy storage, light geometry, spectrum choices and energy supply across the greenhouse (Track A) and the microclimate (Track B) — not as a separate add-on. Each component matures alongside the structure it supports, so the systems behave as one in operation.
Measurements from the first reference build (Phase 2, 2027) will validate the integration choices and feed into the open-source publication.
The long-term goal
A long-term route toward renewable winter operation.
What Phase 1 must decide
- Which crops fit available light and heat
- What supplementary energy is realistic
- What storage assumptions are worth testing
- What seasonal operating model is economically defensible
The first operating envelope must be realistic. Phase 1 defines what can be supported with available energy, passive design, storage options and crop choices, and what requires later renewable capacity.
Local renewable options remain strategic context for later phases. The public Phase 1 task is to define the route, assumptions and validation needs before any larger energy infrastructure is claimed.
Phase 1 is underway
Support the next round of development.
Public support keeps measurements, engineering preparation and specialist coordination moving.