Our coastlines are becoming increasingly more engineered. Ports, quay walls, offshore structures and other marine infrastructure often replace natural habitats with smooth, uniform environments that offer little shelter, surface complexity or refuge for marine life.
At Stonereefs, we believe infrastructure and biodiversity do not have to compete for space.
We develop nature-inclusive solutions that transform built and modified marine environments into habitats for marine life. Using advanced design, 3D printing and material technology, we create complex reef structures that add the surfaces, cavities and refuges often missing from conventional marine environments.
Life takes hold
6 weeks
3 months
6 months
9 monthsDifferent marine environments require different solutions. That is why we have developed three systems for bringing structural complexity and habitat back into the water.
REEFlex is our patented retrofit system for existing sheet pile walls, transforming conventional quay infrastructure into habitat without compromising its original function.
REEFrame brings habitat to underwater columns and pillars, framing existing structures with surfaces, shelters and refuges designed for marine life.
REEForm reshapes the seabed by introducing three-dimensional structure and complexity, transforming otherwise uniform areas into diverse marine habitats.
Together, the three systems allow us to work across ports, urban waterfronts, coastal environments and offshore infrastructure – whether retrofitting what is already there or shaping new environments with biodiversity in mind.
A central part of our philosophy is simple: we do not always need to build something new to create space for nature.
Much of the marine infrastructure that will shape our coastlines for decades to come is already in the water. Instead of waiting for it to be replaced, we can make existing structures more nature-inclusive today.
Our patented REEFlex system was developed around this principle, enabling reef modules to be integrated directly onto existing sheet pile walls while allowing the infrastructure to continue performing its original function.
REEFrame extends the same thinking to columns and pillars: using structures that are already needed and adding the complexity marine life needs.
This opens an enormous opportunity to introduce biodiversity into the thousands of kilometres of existing marine infrastructure found in ports and waterfronts around the world.
Not every marine environment has an existing structure to retrofit.
With REEForm, we take the same nature-inclusive design principles to the seabed. By adding three-dimensional structures, varied surfaces, cavities and refuges, we can reshape otherwise uniform seabed environments and create new opportunities for marine life.
This also expands the potential of Stonereefs beyond ports and waterfronts. Our solutions can be applied in coastal environments and offshore, where biodiversity can be considered alongside the infrastructure being built.
Whether we are retrofitting a quay wall, framing a column or reshaping the seabed, the principle remains the same:
Create more space for life in the places shaped by people.
Our reef structures are designed to reintroduce the complexity found in natural marine habitats.
Different geometries create variation in surface texture, orientation, cavities and shelter, providing opportunities for algae, shellfish and other sessile organisms to establish while creating refuges for mobile species.
3D printing allows us to manufacture this complexity at scale and adapt our designs to different environments, ecological objectives and infrastructure requirements.
But installing reef structures is only part of the solution.
We work with researchers, marine biologists and industry partners to monitor our installations and continuously improve their ecological performance. Depending on the project, monitoring can include underwater imagery, ROV surveys, eDNA and other methods that help document how marine life develops over time.
Stonereefs grew out of Danish 3D-printing company 3DCP Group with a simple question: Could the same technology used to build on land be used to create better habitats below the surface?
That question developed into a dedicated company working at the intersection of marine biology, advanced manufacturing and infrastructure.
Today, Stonereefs solutions have been deployed across a growing number of marine environments. We work alongside ports, infrastructure owners, researchers, NGOs and leading companies within the maritime and energy sectors to demonstrate how nature-inclusive design can work in practice and at scale.
We want nature-inclusive marine infrastructure to become the standard rather than the exception.
Ports will continue to expand. Coastlines will continue to be protected. Offshore infrastructure will continue to be built. And much of the infrastructure already in our waters will remain there for decades.
The opportunity is to make these environments work harder – not only for people and industry, but for nature as well.
Our mission is simple: Bring back biodiversity.
