‘Ecological’ concrete used for marine construction

Holicim US and ECOncrete have successfully deployed over 1,000 tonnes of Droplock Ecological Scour Protection as part of a two-year joint research and development (R&D) project.

Droplock, an ecolgical concrete is dropped off the coast of Long Island, New York. (Photo: ECOncrete)

Funded by the Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Energy Foundation, the project aims to provide offshore wind projects with ecological scour protection.

The project began in May last year and its latest phase saw the respective companies deploy the ecological concrete 12 miles off of Long Island, New York, at a 100ft depth, in coordination with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Scour protection is used to anchor in sea-based structures in marine construction, such as offshore turbines and protect them from seabed movement.

According to the companies, Droplock is the only structural solution to benefit both foundation resiliency and local marine ecosystem and is said to require up to 30% less material while still minimising native habitat degradation.

Dr. Ido Sella, CEO and co-founder of ECOncrete, said, “The unit’s ecological properties mimic natural marine habitats’ features while providing the armoring functionality required for scour protection. 

“Offshore wind projects that integrate nature inclusive technologies are able to gain ecosystem services not achievable before. The ecological uplift and long-term functionality of ecologically sensitive solutions can mitigate some of the associated impacts of offshore infrastructure.”