Coastal infrastructure such as ports, offshore energy installations, and underwater cables play an increasingly important role in the global economy. Yet these structures are often associated with habitat loss and ecological disruption in marine environments. As maritime industries expand, new approaches are emerging that aim to integrate biodiversity rehabilitation directly into marine infrastructure. Ocean Ecostructures, founded in Barcelona in 2021, develops technological solutions designed to renaturalize marine ecosystems around existing ocean infrastructure. The company focuses on biomimetic structures that replicate the form and ecological function of natural structures. By creating complex underwater habitats on artificial surfaces, the technology aims to encourage the settlement and growth of marine organisms in areas affected by human activity. This approach enables marine infrastructure to become a platform for ecological rehabilitation.
Technology and Product
Natural reefs provide complex habitats that support diverse marine ecosystems. Ocean Ecostructures develops modular biomimetic structures designed to replicate these ecological conditions on artificial surfaces. The company’s system uses mineral-based modules engineered to mimic the geometry and texture of natural reef environments. These modules can be attached to marine infrastructure such as port walls, coastal installations, and offshore energy structures. Their surface complexity creates habitats that attract algae, invertebrates, fish, and other marine organisms. Over time, biological communities develop around the structures, forming artificial reef habitats that increasingly resemble natural marine ecosystems. The system can also be combined with monitoring technologies that track biodiversity development and ecosystem recovery.
Installation of biomimetic reef modules on an offshore platform to support habitat formation. (© Ocean Ecostructures)
Industrial Fit and Applications
Ocean infrastructure is expanding rapidly as maritime trade, offshore energy production, and coastal development increase worldwide. The company positions its innovative, biomimetic reef systems as a novel way to integrate ecological renaturalization into these environments without interfering with industrial operations. Some typical deployment sites include commercial ports, offshore wind installations, marinas, and other marine infrastructure. Through the attachment of biomimetic modules directly to these structures, the system can create habitats that support marine biodiversity in locations where natural ecosystems have been degraded.
Digital monitoring tools track biodiversity development around installed reef modules. (© Ocean Ecostructures)
Founding Team
Ocean Ecostructures was founded by Ignasi Ferrer (CEO), Mireia de Mas (COO), and Anna Lloveras (CSO) with a multidisciplinary team of engineers, marine biologists, and environmental specialists. The company emerged from research exploring how biomimicry and ecological engineering can be applied to marine infrastructure. The founding team combines expertise in marine science, engineering, and environmental innovation.
Ocean Ecostructures founders Anna Lloveras, Ignasi Ferrer, and Mireia de Mas (© Ocean Ecostructures)
Company Info
Ocean Ecostructures
Moll de Sant Bertran, s/n, Sants-Montjuïc,
08039 Barcelona
Title image © Ocean Ecostructures
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