3D-printed reefs installed around Denmark’s offshore wind farm

The reefs aim to bolster the biodiversity of the North Sea.

The Danish clean energy company Ørsted and WWF Denmark (the nature nonprofit, not, like, Thor-themed pro wrestlers) have installed 3D-printed reefs around the Anholt Offshore Wind Farm — one of the largest wind farms in the world.

The artificial reefs are meant to help restore the biodiversity of the region — the waters between Sweden and Denmark — which is an important cod fishery and is facing a historically low stock of cod.

A crew lowers the 3D printed reefs in the waters of the Kattegart in the North Sea. Ørsted

Each faux reef weighs up to half a ton, their tiered structure laced with hollows connecting the layers and allowing space for fish and other forms of marine life to hide and thrive, with their outer surface providing space for other animals to anchor to. 

The 3D-printed reefs, created by Italian firm D-Shape, are the first of their kind in Danish waters, and they will bolster other artificial reefs made from boulders installed during Anholt’s construction in 2013.

“We must give nature and wildlife a hand, while trying to solve our climate crisis by expanding our renewable energy production at the same time,” Bo Øksnebjerg, WWF Denmark’s secretary general, said. “To solve the nature crisis, we must leave nature in better shape than before.”

The dozen 3D-printed reefs were placed in the frigid waters of the Kattegat, a part of the North Sea bounded by the main peninsula of Denmark, Jutland, and Sweden, where cod patrol the waters and keep a complex ecosystem in check. 

Ørsted

WWF Denmark and Ørsted hope the 3D-printed reefs will work in conjunction with the 24 boulder reefs that were in the wind farm.

The Anholt Offshore Wind Farm’s 111 turbines produce enough power for over a million Danes’ needs.

We’d love to hear from you! If you have a comment about this article or if you have a tip for a future Freethink story, please email us at tips@freethink.com.

Related
Tesla Superchargers will soon work with Ford and GM EVs
Ford and GM vehicles will be able to use the 12,000 Superchargers in early 2024, helping potentially set a new charging standard.
Can “terraforming” turn Mars or the moon into Earth 2.0?
Terraforming — the hypothetical process of making another place “Earth-like” — offers the hope of turning Mars or the moon into Earth 2.0.
AI is riding to the rescue on wildfires
AI-powered systems designed to detect, confirm, and detail wildfires at the earliest possible time may help firefighters tame infernos in the West.
How years of fighting every wildfire helped fuel the Western megafires of today
The current approach to fire management poses unnecessarily high stakes for forests. Here’s why fighting every fire does more harm than good.
Why EV growth in US could be much faster than expected
Consumer preferences and technological trends suggest that most buyers will be ready to choose an EV by 2030.
Up Next
Exit mobile version