CARBOGEM

Kurzbeschreibung

85% of the world’s oyster reefs have disappeared due to human-induced pollution, overfishing, climate change, and ocean acidification. This is alarming, as reef biodiversity hotspots are essential to marine ecosystems. Coastal communities also rely heavily on the health of oyster reefs, which provide critical ecosystem services such as water filtration and protection against flooding and erosion.

Fortunately, numerous initiatives are working to restore these vital ecosystems using artificial reefs, most commonly made from concrete. However, conventional concrete has a high CO₂ footprint, further exacerbating the issue.

CARBOGEM is a reef restoration module made from a novel bio-based concrete developed in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute. It incorporates oyster shell waste, an algae-derived binder, and biocementation facilitated by photosynthetic cyanobacteria, making the concrete 100% renewable with the potential to actively capture CO₂. Turning carbon into gems.