ECOncrete® has won the European Commission Horizon 2020 Fast Track to Innovation funding programme with a large-scale deployment at the Port of Vigo, Galicia, Spain, to Lead the “LIVING PORTS” Project to Deploy Next-Generation Port Infrastructure
In alignment with the EU Green Deal, Marine Directive and Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, de-risking and scaling of environmentally-sensitive industrialisation projects is an urgent priority.
The European Commission has selected ECOncrete – an international engineering company that creates ecologically active marine infrastructure – to lead their “Living Ports” project beginning with a large-scale deployment in the Port of Vigo, located in Vigo, Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain.
ECOncrete is an award-winning startup led by two award-winning marine biologists, Co-Founder and CTO Ido Sella, and Co-Founder and CEO Shimrit Perkol-Finkel. The company rethinks the CMI industry by designing concrete infrastructure that regenerates marine life. Chemical composition, rough surface textures, and nature-based 3-D designs facilitate organisms like oysters and kelp that encrust the infrastructure, making it stronger, biodiversity-positive, and an effective carbon sink. ECOncrete is proving that there is a feasible path for stronger infrastructure that benefits the environment.
The LIVING PORTS project is designed to catalyse a fundamental change in the Coastal and Marine Infrastructure (CMI) industry’s operations by shifting away from obsolete “grey” construction and towards nature-inclusive infrastructure with structural, environmental and socio-economic co-benefits.
The consortium is built of four partners from three countries:
ECOncrete Tech Ltd, the project coordinator, and an Israeli SME provider for ecological CMI solutions; the Port of Vigo, one of Europe’s greenest ports; CARDAMA SHIPYARD, a Spanish shipbuilding and ship repair company; Technical University of Denmark (DTU) Civil Engineering and Aquatic Resources Institutes.
“ECOncrete is enabling a revolution for marine ports, providing the tools to shift from focusing only on function and structural performance, to also focusing on benefitting the marine environment. LIVING PORTS will be an iconic example for nature-inclusive port infrastructure: an active waterfront that also serves as a thriving habitat and a community focal point.”
ECOncrete’s co-founder, CEO, and project coordinator, Dr. Ido Sella.