No more steel or plastic, biodegradable artificial reef tested in Arnhem sea aquarium

A start-up from Delft has developed an artificial reef made entirely of biodegradable material. The reef, which consists of a kind of large building blocks, is intended to grow coral.

This is much needed, because coral is threatened by the rapid warming of the seawater and by more and more intense storms. The invention is being tested in the coral reef of Burgers’ Zoo in Arnhem.

Steel or plastic is often used when constructing artificial reefs, which means that material is left behind in the sea. At this reef the material is completely dissolved after a while.

This is what the artificial reef looks like:

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