Senior chemist in Jotun, Anders Skilbred at the world's only Arctic test station for paints and coatings. Photo: Morten Rakke

08-04-2019 12:53 CEST

Groundbreaking testing in the Arctic

With the establishment of a test station on Svalbard, Jotun is the first to carryout testing of products and paint systems in the Arctic region. So far, the testresults have been both reassuring and surprising.

Reassuring, because it has been shown that the experience Jotun has gainedfrom the Barents Sea and the Norwegian continental shelf has resulted inproducts that withstand conditions also in the Arctic regions. Surprising,because the climate is changing and is different from what was believed,with higher temperatures and more humidity.

Svein Erik Andresen (Global Business Development, Protective Coatings) andAnders Skilbred (R&D Senior Chemist) studying paint samples exposed at the teststation.

Svalbard is one of the world’s northernmost inhabited areas with its locationnorth of the Arctic Circle, and the climate is characterised by lowtemperatures all year round, seasonal darkness, midnight sun and longperiods of fog, high winds and violent storms.

Just outside Longyearbyen stand Jotun’s test panels, mounted on poles thatare hammered eight metres down into the ground. The test station wasopened in autumn 2015, in collaboration with Innovation Norway, SvalbardUniversity and Leonard Nilsen og Sønner, Jotun’s local partner at Svalbard.

The world's only Arctic test station for paints and coatings, located just outsideLongyearbyen, Svalbard.

“Boring is good”

- Our experience from the Barents Sea and the Norwegian Continental Shelfshows that the Arctic is not a myth for us, we are used to these conditions.But prior to this test station we have had no way of documenting this.Findings so far confirm what we believed and hoped, namely that ourproducts perform well in this climate, says Anders Skilbred, senior chemist inJotun and responsible for the test station at Svalbard.

- And even though that might sound rather boring, in this case “boring isgood”. This means that what we have done so far works well, and that ourcustomers can be certain that our products meet expectations, even in theArctic region.

About 40 different paint systems are now being tested on Svalbard, includingproducts from all segments: protective coatings, powder coatings, decorativepaints and marine coatings. In addition, ice-breaker paints are being tested inthe Van Mijen Fjord outside Svea, a small mining community about 45kilometres south of Longyearbyen. The fjord freezes over every winter, andmetre-thick ice moves up and down with the tide and wears the paintsamples.

To access Jotun's test station at Svea during winter, one has to ride snow mobiles.When moving outside the settlement of Longyearbyen, Jotun staff isalways accompanied by a local guide with firearm, as Svalbard has a large polarbear population.

- More and more projects are starting up in cold climates, and the industryhas limited knowledge on how paint behaves over time in this climate. At thesame time, this Arctic and vulnerable climate sets greater demands to us tocreate sustainable solutions with as little environmental impact as possible,states Svein Erik Andresen, business development manager in ProtectiveCoatings.

Anders Skilbred adds:

- Academic literature has little reference to the Arctic climate, and all testingthat we conduct here will provide us with increased knowledge and betterproducts. 

Field tests are important

Many products must pass various laboratory tests to be approved. Jotunconducts a number of such laboratory tests, but stresses the importance ofsupporting the results with tests conducted under real conditions - so-calledfield tests.

- Laboratory tests are necessary and important, but they must be supportedby field tests. To obtain proper results you must be willing to test for 10-15years. We have a long-term perspective in Jotun, and set aside time andresources for field testing, says Anders Skilbred.

He emphasizes the importance of testing under real conditions, andsimplifies it by comparing it to baking a frozen pizza.

- You do not necessarily obtain the same result if you bake a pizza at 2,500degrees for one minute, as if you bake it at 250 degrees for ten minutes. Fieldtests provide us with documented experience under real conditions, saysAnders.

Senior Chemist Anders Skilbred on the way to Svea.

The test station on Svalbard also provides us with unique opportunities totest characteristics that are difficult to test in a laboratory.

- Take for example the question of UV radiation. UV lamps are used in thelab, but such lamps usually mean that the temperature also increases. Thus, itcan be difficult to know what impact is due to UV radiation, and what is dueto the increased temperature. On Svalbard the midnight sun lasts half a year,which gives intensive light around the clock. This gives a great deal of UVradiation, while the temperature is not particularly high. This is an example

of how the test station on Svalbard gives us the opportunity to testsomething that is difficult to achieve elsewhere, Anders explains.

Climate is changing

The corrosion rate, in other words how quickly metal rusts in untreatedcondition, has never been measured before on Svalbard. With an establishedtest station here, Jotun can contribute with valuable information to the localcommunity on Svalbard.

- The climate is changing, and average temperatures have been higher thannormal every month for the last eight years. For example, hunting huts thathave stood for a hundred years, are now starting to rot. Untreated metalpanels set out about two years ago are already rusting quite heavily, saysAnders.

- This obviously sets greater demands to us in Jotun. We must develop evenbetter and more sustainable products and solutions that not only protectassets, but also the environment.

You can encounter polar bears anywhere in Svalbard all year round.

All photos: Morten Rakke

Jotun er markedsleder innen dekorative malinger i Norge, og en av verdensledende produsenter av maling og pulverlakker med 67 selskaper og 38produksjonsanlegg på alle kontinent. Jotuns produkter er tilgjengelig i mer enn100 land gjennom egne selskaper, felleskontollerte selskaper, avdelingskontorer,agenter og distributører. Jotun hadde i 2019 en omsetning på NOK 19,7milliarder, og konsernet har mer enn 9 800 medarbeidere. Konsernet erorganisert i fire ulike segmenter og sju geografiske regioner, og har sitthovedkontor i Sandefjord.

Kontaktpersoner

Åsne Vittersø KvammePressekontaktGroup Communications Managerasne.vitterso.kvamme@jotun.no+ 47 992 44 648