ABOUT US

Who are we?

ARC Marine was founded from the determination for regenerating our fragile and damaged marine ecosystems on an unprecedented scale. Our first challenge was to invent a concrete mould, enabling us to create artificial reef structures anywhere in the world and to simplify the technology so scientists or remote fishers can contribute to rebuilding what has been lost. Having spent years experimenting and testing with various prototypes, ARC Marine has fine-tuned the design & manufacturing technique.

Reef Cubes® are ready to change the way the world looks at reefs.

Our timeline of events

2019

March 4, 2019

Eco-toxicology testing of Reef Cubes®

Core samples taken from 5 experimental Reef Cube® mixes in order to test for any heavy metal release and uptake by bivalves.

2018

December 3, 2018

Phase 2 physical modelling of Reef Cubes®

A comprehensive experiment led to the success of Reef Cubes® repairing and preventing scour around a scaled model of an offshore turbine.

July 12, 2018

ARC Marine wins the Technology Innovation award from Marine-I

ARC Marine won the Technology Innovation Award from Marine-I for the development of Reef Cubes®.

July 3, 2018

Constructed and deployed 5 bio blocks for the University of Plymouth

In collaboration with the University of Plymouth ARC Marine constructed and deployed 5 intertidal BIO Blocks for a new development off Teats Hill Plymouth close to the University’s marine station for a 24 month study.

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

Phase 1 physical modelling of Reef Cubes®

ARC Marine carried out extensive physical modelling of Reef Cubes® at the COAST laboratory 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 Environmental Laboratory

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

2016

December 3, 2016

ARC Marine filed for a worldwide 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 gravity mooring.

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 15, 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.