ABOUT US

Who are we?

Tom Birbeck & James Doddrell formed ARC Marine with the passion to regenerate our fragile and damaged marine ecosystems. Having spent long hours experimenting with various prototypes, they have now invented a number of products ranging from artificial reef modules to sea grass habitats. In early 2016 they applied and successfully gained Investment from Virgin StartUp, and is proud to have been officially named a Virgin StartUp Ambassador in 2016!

Our timeline of events

2018

July 3, 2018

Constructed and deployed 5 Reef Cubes and 5 bio blocks

Constructed and deployed 5 Reef Cubes and 5 BIO Blocks a new development off Teats Hill Plymouth close to the marine station.

June 3, 2018

National Marine Aquarium Exhibit

Reef Cubes exhibition at the National Marine Aquarium showing the history and future of artificial reefs

May 3, 2018

Physical and numerical modelling of Reef Cubes

ARC Marine carried out extensive physical modelling of reef cubes at the COAST lab in collaboration with the University of Plymouth and Marine-i.

2017

November 3, 2017

Secured seed round of investment

Successfully completed a significant round of investment for ARC Marine to develop Reef Cubes further.

September 3, 2017

Deployed Reef Cubes into Vobster

ARC Marine deployed 200 Reef Cubes into Vobster Quay and released 36 electronically tagged native, white clawed crayfish onto the reef. ARC Marine will monitor how they utilises the reef over the coming months.

April 3, 2017

Most money raised on a crowdfunding platform record

Broke the record for the most money raised on a crowdfunding platform for a marine conservation project! https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/arc-marine

February 3, 2017

Secured a tenancy at Brixham lab

Secured a tenancy at Brixham laboratory with world class facilities to test behavioural and biological properties of Reef Cubes.

2016

December 3, 2016

ARC Marine filed for a UK patent on reef cubes

ARC Marine filed for a UK patent on ‘Reef Cubes’; a subsea structure capable of providing marine habitat as well as an anti-trawling device, scour solution and a mooring/anchor point

October 3, 2016

Gained a marine licence

They gained a marine licence from the marine management organisation (MMO) to deploy 10 reef balls into Lyme bay and test a marine friendly concrete mix in British waters.

June 3, 2016

Named Virgin Start-up Ambassadors

ARC Marine were officially named as Virgin Start-up Ambassadors and spent the day at Sir Richard Branson’s family home in Oxfordshire.

March 3, 2016

Surveying Sites

Initiated surveying potential sites for a substantial artificial reef in Torquay, Devon.

January 3, 2016

Virgin Loan Successful

They successfully gained investment from the Virgin Start-up Company.

2015

August 2, 2015

Virgin Start-Up Loan

ARC Marine applied for a Virgin StartUp loan and started experimenting with Reefballs and developing new prototypes.

June 2, 2015

The formation of ARC Marine LTD

Tom and James formed ARC Marine LTD in the UK and start developing specific products to aid the rehabilitation of damaged reefs and other marine problems.

March 2, 2015

Tom and James Meet

Tom and James met via a media article whilst Tom was researching artificial reefs.