Mercuria CSR report 2023 - Flipbook - Page 48
PARTNER PROFILE 2023
ARC MARINE
Marine eco-engineering, UK
ARC Marine is focused on accelerating reef creation and biodiversity through eco-engineering.
Based in Devon and Cornwall in the UK, they design, manufacture and install nature-based
solutions in the marine environment.
Biodiversity is decreasing in oceans worldwide. ARC Marine was founded with the mission to
build biodiversity and to replenish reefs on a scale never before imagined.
They are doing this by providing environmentally sound, durable solutions for traditional
marine industries.
Since inception, their team of dedicated scientists and engineers has built a family of
products for subsea cables, seawalls and marine foundations.
In 2023, Mercuria invested in ARC Marine to help ensure their success in increasing marine
biodiversity around the world. Here we talk with their founder Tom Birbeck.
WHAT DOES ARC MARINE DO?
ARC Marine is a company that’s focused on
accelerating reef creation and biodiversity. We
do that through eco-engineering, meaning we
design, manufacture and install nature-based
solutions in the marine environment.
First, all of our products are made from our
Marine Crete, a concrete like material without
all of the bad bits. It can be poured into a
mould, is settable, currently consists of 98%
recycled materials, is carbon neutral and can
be carbon negative, and is free from toxins,
plastics and other leachates. This makes it the
perfect
material
for
making
marine
infrastructure and nature-based solutions that
accelerate retroactive processes.
Our flagship technology product is the reef
cube®.
This is a Marine Crete cube shape structure
with six passageways leading to a spherical
chamber that is used to create marine habitats
and restore reefs. reef cubes® allow us to
create tailor engineered solutions to protect
offshore installations, eg wind farms, that
double up as a marine habitat. With a few
tweaks, we can engineer them for the specific
area and for the marine life that exists there,
scaling to any size to cater for certain species,
certain life cycles and for specific met ocean
conditions.
We also make our Marine Matts that protect
subsea cables and pipelines whilst enhancing
the marine environment. Over 80,000
traditional concrete mattresses have been
deployed off the UK continental shelf since the
oil & gas boom, filled with plastic materials and
high CO2 concrete that leach metals and other
additives from the concrete making process.
Our replacement version uses Marine Crete
and it’s carbon negative, plastic free and
includes nature inclusive design features such
as a fully customised texturizing to cater for
marine species as well as crustacean burrows.
We believe that there is an unprecedented
opportunity to mitigate marine biodiversity loss
by using our products and technologies.
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