On 23rd June 2021, E-ON Energy used a large ice sculpture created by Techne Ice to announce its plans to install a zero-carbon heating and cooling system in London,UK. The 5-metre high ice sculpture, named “Cooling the Capital”, featured 5 iconic London landmarks; The Shard, Big Ben, The Gherkin, The London Eye and St. Paul’s Cathedral.

It was essential, in order for the branding stunt to be a success, that the large ice sculpture grabbed the attention of tourists and locals in London.

Techne Ice made the decision to use nothing more than pure ice and water to create the sculpture, in order to stay true to the ‘sustainable’ theme of the stunt and promote green energy. Ice is a powerful tool that can be used to communicate important messages. In a busy area of London, members of the public would not expect to see a magnificent ice sculpture, making the sculpture truly attention-grabbing.

The impressive ice structure stood at 7 m x 5 m and was displayed in Central London. As requested, Techne Ice included a network of pipelines and a large fan within the sculpture.

As something like this had never been seen before, the Techne Ice team knew how important the planning and preparation process would be. On the day of the build, a drainage system was installed before the ice sculpture was assembled. The technically experienced ice artists assembled the structure after 10 hours. The final promotional structure had a weight of around 20,000kg or 20 tonnes.

A spokesperson for Techne Ice said: ‘This was one of our most challenging projects to date and I am happy to say was a total success: this is what we thrive on, achieving what others cannot”. Our team loved being part of this PR stunt and I truly believe our sculpture was the perfect way for E-ON Energy to engage with the general public in London.