Boskalis CSR report 2017

Impact on the environment CSR 2017 – BOSKALIS 32 HELPING RESTORE MARINE ECOLOGY WITH 3D-PRINTED REEFS CREATING NEW REEFS Over the past three years, Boskalis has been actively involved in this innovative project. As with most truly innovative ideas, the road to success has been full of challenges and also with rewarding outcomes. Coral reefs are a vital source of life for a range of ecosystems. However, global warming is seriously threatening the coral and, with it, countless plants and other animal species. In recent decades, about half of the planet’s coral reefs have died, and that process continues unabated.

Jamie Lescinski (l) and Astrid Kramer.

The idea of executing coastal construction projects, while at the same time contributing to reef restoration through application of new techniques and ecological processes, is what triggered environmental engineer Astrid Kramer to submit the winning plan for the Boskalis Innovation Challenge in 2014. Her plan was to manufacture artificial reefs based on a site-specific design, made from locally dredged material. At the time, she had just finished a large-scale Boskalis coral relocation project in Jamaica that included the installation of artificial reefs. Reading an article about the Italian inventor Enrico Dini, she was inspired by his idea to use sand as raw material to produce artificial reefs using a large 3D printer. “I felt that this was an essential piece of the puzzle for imitating the complex and random shapes of coral reefs. The next step was to go back to the ‘drawing board’ and identify the scientifically and ecologically important parameters and study ways of producing location-specific reefs with a 3D printer,” she recalls.