The freezing Antarctic will be a far cry from the warmth of their Asian bases for five CLP workers as they throw themselves into a polar adventure this weekend.
They will be testing a prototype solar device they designed for a fossil-fuel-free polar expedition next year.
The team has four members with an engineering background and one with IT skills from CLP businesses in Hong Kong, the mainland, India and Australia. They are Fatima Lam, Fan Xiangping, Abhay Potdor, Nam Quach and Lucy Carter.
They have designed a prototype solar-powered device comprising a flexible thin-film solar photovoltaic panel that will be wrapped around a sled to absorb sunlight and store power in four batteries. They will attach the device in Argentina.
The sled will become a mobile power station to provide energy for heating and cooking for a polar expedition of eight people in November next year that aims to demonstrate the possibilities of renewable energy.
'For everything we've had to incorporate, we've had to be very mindful of the environmental impact,' Carter said. 'The thinking is, if we can get this type of equipment working in such a harsh environment, then it demonstrates that these technologies can be used anywhere.'
English polar explorer Robert Swan will lead a 1,500-kilometre expedition from the South Pole to the Antarctic in kite-pulled sleds. Swan was the first person to walk to both the North and South Poles.