3D Printed Reefs Help Restore Marine Life in Danish Waters

In a recent project, Danish multinational power company Ørsted and the World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) deployed 3D-printed reef structures in Kattegat, a strait between Denmark and Sweden. The goal of this initiative is to test how the 3D printed structures can benefit biodiversity in the Danish waters and help to put an end to the decline of the cod stock in the last few years. The project is the first of its kind in Danish waters, though not the first in the World.

Our environment is suffering, and the consequences of the constant exploitation of the planet are becoming more and more visible. The ocean especially has been pushed to the limits of endurance, and the damages are moving closer to a point of no return. Sea life has been declining over the last decades, as the example of the extremely low stock of cod in Kattegat, a part of the Greater North Sea, shows. The now alarmingly low stock is the result of many different negative impacts, such as overfishing, the loss of habitat, or increasing oxygen depletion. Bo Øksnebjerg, Secretary General, WWF Denmark, explains,” Marine biodiversity in Denmark is under heavy pressure, and today there are 90 % fewer cod in the Kattegat than in 1990. Action is needed – and urgently. We must give nature and wildlife a hand while trying to solve our climate crisis by expanding our renewable energy production at the same time.”

The 3D printed reef structures (photo credits: Ørsted)

The idea of 3D-printing reef structures isn’t exactly a new one. Similar projects, such as the 3D printing of coral reefs off the southern coastal Israeli city of Eilat a few months ago or archiREEF’s work in Hong Kong, have shown that the use of AM technologies can lead to great results. Following that success, the cooperation of the two partners in Denmark planted 12 3D-printed reef structures on a seabed in the Kattegat. The exact spot is located between wind turbines at Anholt Offshore Wind Farm in the North-East of Denmark. The project is the latest of several other initiatives to help the environment since the start of the strategic partnership between Ørsted and WWF Denmark in 2018.