The challenge
- Marine habitats have suffered dramatic damage in recent decades, due to global warming and pollution, disturbing the balance of oceanic ecosystems as a whole.
- An estimated quarter of the world's coral reefs have already suffered irreversible damage, and that two-thirds are seriously threatened.
- Enhancing marine biodiversity through various solutions such as innovative bio-active concretes for port infrastructures can be one important answer to improve aquatic ecosystems.
The teams
LafargeHolcim partnered with EGIS/Seaboost, specialists in innovative systems for the recovery of marine biodiversity, to develop innovative concrete solutions for the rehabilitation of damaged coastal ecosystems.
The solution
The innovation lies in both a tailor-made reef design as well as the special concrete formula used for its construction. The concrete mix-design and placing process patented by LafargeHolcim allows the formation of a dense bottom layer topped with a layer of porous concrete. The structural and chemical characteristics of this innovative concrete, as well as the reef’s design, were specifically defined to allow a rapid colonization by a great diversity of local marine animals and plants.