Shared Research Facilities
Situated at 78° 55′ N, 11° 56′ E in the core of a vast Arctic wilderness with exquisite surroundings, Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, has since the mid-sixties formed a thriving research community. The site comprises institutions from ten nations from around the world, and activities have been increasing rapidly the last few years.
Research on environmental and earth sciences form the core of the activities taking place here, even if such research at these latitudes is challenging. Since access is made easy, the climate is relatively mild, and the infrastructure is well developed, the village makes an attractive land-based entrance for many fields of science in the High North.
Kings Bay AS is the owner of Ny-Ålesund and the surrounding areas, and provides infrastructure and general services for both visiting scientists and permanent residents of the research institutions.
Kings Bay AS aims at keeping local human impact on the environment as low as possible. By doing this we focus on operating Ny-Ålesund in a sustainable manner – to the best of Arctic research and monitoring.
For availability, please contact laboratories@kingsbay.no. Please note that all bookings are made through RiS.
Timeslots for mandatory safety introduction
To gain access to the shared research infrastructure everyone must complete a mandatory safety introduction. This will be held at set intervals at the seminar room at the marine laboratory.
In the winter (October – March):
- Monday 18:00
- Friday 11:00
In the summer (April – October):
- Monday 11:00 and 18:00
- Thursday 11:00 and 18:00
Free access to the Terrestrial Lab continues in 2026!
Kings Bay will continue to offer free access to the labs in the Terrestrial Laboratory (Veksthuset) also in 2026 for groups working on terrestrial and glaciological projects!
Projects must still register their booking in RiS.
For more information click here.
Contact information for Kings Bay laboratories:
Laboratory Manager: engineer@kingsbay.no
Laboratory Staff and booking: laboratories@kingsbay.no
Teisten: teisten@kingsbay.no
+47 7902 7270
Ny-Ålesund Research Station
Detailed information about the research activities in Ny-Ålesund, about how to plan and execute a research project here, and a comprehensive description of the research infrastructure available to researchers is provided on the web site for Ny-Ålesund Research Station.
Marine Laboratory
The Marine Laboratory was officially opened 1st of June 2005. At its location on the beach, close to the harbour it stands as the northernmost experimental laboratory for research in marine ecology , physiology, biochemistry, as well as physical sciences like oceanography, marine geology and ice physics.
Uniqe to the other laboratory facilities, seawater from an inlet approximately 70 meter depth, 900 meters off shore is pumped into the building. The water is filtered and UV treated and can be dispersed into experimental tanks of different size for experimental field work setups. Allowing more comfortable working environments.
The marine laboratory also have smaller rooms were system-controlled experimental variables like air temperature and seawater temperature can be set and monitored.
In addition the marine laboratory is equipped with laboratory space for different purposes. With fume hoods for safe handling of and work with chemicals, microscopes, drying cabinets, MilliQ water, bio safety cabinet and other general laboratory equipment. Find the full list of equipment and instruments and their availability here.
The laboratory space, experimental room and equipment are rented out on commercial basis. It is open to all researchers on the same premises.
Research Vessel Teisten
RV Teisten is 10.3 m long and equipped to do smaller scientific operations, transportation and survey in Kongsfjorden and Krossfjorden. It is equipped with a crane with approximately 450 m winch. Navigation and safety equipment is available on board. RV Teisten can be operated all year if weather conditions, visibility and ice conditions allows it. It is always the Skipper’s decicion whether Teisten can be operated or not. Kings Bay AS thakes no responsibility for cancellations due to unfavorable weather or sea conditions.
The vessel, including Skipper, fuel and sampling equipment can be rented by all scientists on hour basis through the Research in Svalbard portal (RiS). The Teisten booking form must be filled out and submitted to teisten@kingsbay.no, before the booking in RiS can be approved.
The Teisten booking form (2026).
During winter operations some restictions apply. You will find the restrictions here.
The Terrestrial Laboratory
The Terrestrial Laboratory also known as Veksthuset in Norwegian is our newest addition to the shared reasearch infrastructure. Opened in 2020 the Terrestrial Laboratory consists of new and open facilities located in the centre of Ny-Ålesund.
It consists on one big and open dry lab equipped with a fume hood for safe handling and work with chemicals, a drying oven, a muffle furnace, a small -80 freezer and general laboratory equipments.
In addition, there is one smaller Semi-Wet lab equipped with MilliQ water, freezer and cooler and a laminar flow hood for clean work. Chemicals are prohibited in the Semi-Wet lab, and it is especially suitable for sensitive work were absence of heavy metals are required.
In addition the Terrestrial Laboratories have a selection of different microscopes and a freeze dryer. Find the full list of equipment and instruments and their availability here.
The laboratory space with equipment are rented out on commercial basis . It is open to all researchers on the same premises.
For 2026 the Terrestrial Laboratory is free of charge for all projects belonging to the terrestrial or glaciological flagships.
Gruvebadet Atmosphere Laboratory
Gruvebadet is an atmosphere laboratory and observatory located midway between Ny-Ålesund, the Zeppelin observatory and the Climate Change Tower. The building currently hosts instruments for, among others, aerosols sampling.
The Light Sensitive Cabin
The Light Sensitive Cabin is located 2,5 km from the centre of Ny-Ålesund and is for research and instruments that needs to get away from the light pollution from Ny-Ålesund.
Safety issues & radio silence
This is a very important part of staying in Ny-Ålesund.