A South West company set up by professional divers has been awarded a £60,000 Innovate 海角视频 grant to build artificial reefs – and is now aiming to become a £15million business with contracts in Europe, China and the USA.
ARC Marine uses hollow, stackable, “LEGO-like” reef cubes that protect seabed infrastructure, such as cables, while providing commercial and endangered species with a place to hide, sleep, hunt and breed.
Unlike the “concrete mattresses” currently in operation, these cubes are not classed as “marine litter” and do not need to be recovered at great expense during decommissioning.
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, which has a factory in Truro and a lab in Brixham, is focusing on flat oyster reefs which have declined by 85% globally and 95% in Europe since 1890. A single oyster can filter 180 litres of water per day, consuming farm fertiliser run-off, preventing algae from suffocating ocean ecosystems and providing habitats for marine life.
ARC Marine aims to become the global leader in accelerating reef creation, with every offshore construction project around the world using reef cubes.
The company is now as at a “critical tipping point”, moving out of early-stage R&D and needing to raise finance, internationalise and reach new clients quickly, all while navigating the pandemic.
In 2020, ARC Marine partnered with Innovate 海角视频 EDGE to create an application for Innovate 海角视频’s Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition.
Innovation and Growth Specialist, Jayne Codling, reviewed the firm’s application and delivered critical suggestions on meeting the criteria. With £60,000 now secured, ARC Marine is aiming to raise up to £3million in SBRI Phase 2 in 2021.
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“Most reef restoration programmes are currently paid for by NGOs (non-governmental organisations) and charities,” said Tom Birbeck, chief executive of ARC Marine. “We wanted to create something much more scalable, so targeted offshore oil platform and wind farm developers with an attractive proposition, both financially and ecologically.
“SBRI 1 was a lifeline in 2020,” he said. “For an SME that’s on the brink of commercialisation, a six-month Covid hiatus without any income could have wiped us out.
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“If we’re successful in Phase 2, that would open doors to a pilot with the world’s largest offshore wind developers; the biggest project we’ve been involved in to date. If we can knock that out the park, the future looks bright for ARC Marine.”
China is currently constructing more offshore wind capacity than the rest of the world combined, making it a huge potential market for ARC Marine.
ARC Marine joined Innovate 海角视频 EDGE’s Global Business Innovation Programme (GBIP) in 2019 and participated in a technology visit to China.
ARC Marine is now looking to license a joint venture in China and by 2024 it aims to be turning over £15million with major contracts in China, Europe and the US.
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“Travelling to China isn’t something we would have been able to fund ourselves,” said Mr Birbeck. “But by securing a place on the GBIP, we not only benefited from a travel budget, but also training on the business culture, an itinerary of pitches, and introductions to the right people, which was just invaluable.”
He added: “Innovate 海角视频 EDGE were there for us at the beginning when we were a team of two, almost acting as a third member of staff. Now we’re a team of seven and each step of the way they keep upping their game to match what we need.”