Reefy: growing reefs for rising sea levels

Reefy is developing the first modular artificial reef that is stable enough to dissipate wave energy to protect the coast whilst providing the required substrate and habitat complexity to boost marine biodiversity. This patented innovation in coastal infrastructure is the REB: Reef Enhancing Breakwater. The “Lego-Like” REB consists of self-weighted mega-sized building blocks that are hydrodynamically designed for stability. Through an unique stacking and interlocking, these elongated modules can be assembled in an unlimited array of configurations to form a stable artificial reef that can dissipate over 90% of wave energy and provide the macro habitat complexity required by sheltering fish and invertebrate species. The modularity allows the REB to be scalable to any site or project restrictions. By pre-seeding or planting reef building species (oysters or corals) on the surface we can achieve a stable and resilient living breakwater that can grow with sea-level rise, reducing expensive maintenance and upgrade costs.

After currently having proven our technology works in scale in the Deltares wave flume facilities we now aim to start full scale pilots in operational environment. A critical step in this process is determining the constructability and mechanical properties of the REB modules.