From first wave to living reef

One team from the first model to the last monitoring report, so nothing is lost between design and the water.

Find your first step Our modelling in full

Installation at Telchac, Mexico (CCell photo)

The four stages

Every reef is designed for one stretch of coast

Nothing is copied from somewhere else. Each stage answers a question before the next one starts, and you only move on when the evidence says it is worth it.

Stage 1

Model

Understand the site

A first look at your site, then detailed modelling of waves, currents and sand movement on your coast, using decades of ocean data and a survey of the seabed.

How we model

Stage 2

Design

Shape the reef

Different reef layouts are tested in the model. The structure is checked for storm loads, and local and bio-based materials are used where possible. We handle the permits.

Hyperboloid reefs

Stage 3

Build

Make and install

Modular units are made locally where we can, then assembled and installed with local teams using light equipment, with minimal disruption to the beach.

See our projects

Stage 4

Grow and monitor

Watch it work

CCell Sense, our own electronics and sensors, powers rock growth on the reef and tracks the reef, the beach and the marine life so you can see what is happening.

CCell Sense

Stage 1 - Model

A survey, then a model of your sea

We start with a detailed survey of the seabed, building a 3D model of the area with underwater photography of the marine life and the key features of the seabed.

Bathymetry and beach profileThe shape of the seabed and beach today, as a baseline.
Decades of ocean dataWave buoys, satellite records and climate models, combined into thousands of years of simulated sea states.
Waves, currents and sandHow water moves along your coast and what it does to the sand, now and in future.
Our own modelsOne connected set of models built by CCell, so the tools that shape your reef also test it against storms and a changing climate. Because they run quickly, we can compare many more options.

Satellite-derived map of the seabed and shallows along a coast

Seabed and shallows mapped from satellite data, ahead of the site survey (CCell)

A bamboo-clad hyperboloid reef unit on the beach before installation, with the sun behind it

Structural analysis of a hyperboloid reef

Stage 2 - Design

The right reef, in the right place

Within the model, different arrangements of reef are compared for their effect on waves, currents and the beach. The structure is then optimised to withstand short-term extreme loads from severe storms and hurricanes, and the longer-term loads once rock has formed across it.

What that means for you: no over-building to be safe, and no gaps where the sea finds a way round.

Stage 3 - Build

Light, modular and made locally

Reef units are designed to be light and modular, so they can be fabricated locally and installed without heavy machinery. Local teams are trained to assemble and install them.

Local fabricationSteel, bamboo, sisal and other materials, chosen for your site.
Assembled on the beachUnits are joined into sections in shallow water, floated into place and anchored to the seabed.
Electronics from the UKCCell Sense power and monitoring modules are fitted beneath the reef units.

Reef units on the beach before installation

Aerial view of the installed reef at Telchac

CCell Sense monitoring (CCell)

Stage 4 - Grow and monitor

A reef that keeps improving

CCell Sense controls the mineral accretion that grows natural rock on the reef, and reports on the reef, the beach and the marine life. The reef is monitored remotely, and our control system flags any issue with an individual unit so it can be fixed quickly.

About CCell Sense