Want to know more?

CCell’s mission is to combat coastal erosion by working with nature to restore a sustainable balance to coastal environments and bring lasting protection to communities. Our goal is to create a living barrier in front of the property that continues to grow and evolve with time, that is broadly indistinguishable from a natural reef.

CCell’s submerged artificial reefs aim to stabilise sand on adjacent beaches by damping the effects of larger waves. This is achieved in two key ways: First through the creation of turbulence as waves pass through the structure, which consequently dampens the waves; Second by causing larger waves to steepen and break. These reef structures also promote marine life and the colonisation of the reef with calcareous organisms, such as corals or oysters. These organisms may need to be initially planted onto the reef structures, but then will continue to form and grow naturally with time. Crucially, the minerals accreted onto the structure through CCell’s electrolysis process are exactly the same as those used by corals and bivalves to form their exoskeletons. In this way, the CCell reefs provide an ideal backbone for a wide range of calcareous organisms to grow at accelerated rates.

CCell was founded in 2015 to continue Innovate UK-funded fundamental research into a lightweight curved wave paddle. This paddle was designed to provide power at remote offshore and coastal locations, and its development allowed CCell to enhance its composite manufacturing capability.

Simultaneously, building on Dr Bateman’s PhD in extreme ocean waves, CCell has always benefited from expertise in fluid dynamic modelling. Under Innovate UK-funded projects, we enhanced this capability further, with particular focus on wave-structure interactions and extreme wave conditions. More recently, our modelling has expanded to consider wider coastal processes.

Our ability to model in this way enables us to accurately predict the performance of our systems in marine environments and allows us to illustrate their potential impact to customers. An early artificial reef system design was produced alongside the wave paddle, offering a commercial application for the offshore energy, and pitched to investors in 2019. Funding from our first crowdfunding round in 2019 has been used to:

• Install our first full-scale reef in Mexico
• Further Develop and refine the system
• Establish robust marine operations
• Build sales networks in Mexico
• Install pilot units with several hotels

Our 120m-long pilot reef off the coast of Yucatán protects the homes of local residents and is monitored and controlled remotely from the UK. The cost of the electronic system was reduced by over 45%, and power cable losses by 85%. Electrochemical research into optimal rock growth was carried out in labs and marine sites.

The simple answer is yes, we think so. So far, we have seen phenomenal natural rock growth in our warm water locations in Mexico. We are running trials now in the Isle of Man, between English & Irish waters so a cold-water location – once we get more data from this project, we will be able to understand better the rock growth and system efficiency for wave attenuation in colder waters. Scientifically speaking, we estimate that in colder waters the rock growth would be slowed down; so, rates of growth would not be the same as our projects in the warmer waters, but nonetheless, the reef should work in the long-term – this is under current evaluation.

Typically, a CCell Reef for coastal protection which is 100m long or more and installed between 1.5m and 3m of water depth, will have a capital cost (CAPEX) between USD 1000 – USD 2 200 per meter of reef installed, including survey, design, manufacturing, and installation (permits management not included). After installation, the reef will incur an additional operational cost (OPEX) of around 5% of CAPEX a year for the first two years to cover the energy required by the rock-growth process, and another 5% a year involving remote monitoring, bi-monthly on-site inspections, and maintenance. However, these are rough estimates given that reef CAPEX depends greatly on the site’s bathymetry, soil conditions for reef anchoring, and reef initial porosity, and OPEX on energy costs and site logistics (personnel travel).

For a typical installation, we can expect significant results on the shoreline profile in 4 to 6 months. The reef will still grow rock up to 12 months after the installation, which will, in turn, increase its effect on wave energy and sediment accumulation. On the other hand, for the marine ecosystem, we have observed a qualitative increase in the number of species gathering around the reef as well as plants and barnacles getting attached to the structure within weeks of its installation.

Once the customer has been introduced to CCell’s technology and confirms their interest in implementing it, then:

• CCell team produces a preliminary feasibility assessment and scope free of charge, which includes costings for a site survey and detailed design work and expected costs for the reef system (1 week).
• Upon acceptance, a survey report and detailed engineering report are then presented to the customer with detailed costings and reef configuration (3 weeks).
• A Master Service Agreement (MSA) is signed between CCell and the Customer, outlining the relationship between the two. The MSA is meant to be extended through Scope of Work (SoW) documents, defining subsequent project stages.
• Production of Environmental Impact Assessment and other documentation necessary to secure authorizations (variable: 3 – 6 months).
• Upon regulatory approval, the reef structure and electronics are manufactured and shipped to the site (dependant on project size; typically, 2 months).
• Reef installation, including reef units and anchoring and electrical connection (dependant on project size and characteristics; typically, 1 - 2 weeks).
• Operation - 3 years contract (renewable) including:
  • Rock-growth period 6 – 12 months
  • Continuous remote monitoring
  • Bi-monthly inspections with shoreline monitoring
  • Electronics warranty 1-year
  • Extraordinary inspections after extreme weather events

• CAPEX
  • 5 - 10% initial commitment
    • Half before Survey and Detailed Design
    • Half upon delivering survey and detailed design reports
  • 50% Upon permits approval to begin manufacturing, sourcing and logistics
  • 40 – 45% Upon installation
• OPEX
  • Yearly payments for the service agreement

• Memorandum of Understanding and NDA before delivering the detailed engineering report
• Master Service Agreement to move ahead after agreeing on the detailed proposal
• Copies of environmental authorizations required for the installation under the customer names
• Proof of ownership or similar of the property where the reef is to be installed

At the moment, projects are funded by the customer (see payments schedule). Compared to alternative solutions, CCell Reefs are considerably more affordable, with part of the cost spread over the operation of the reef.

We offer a 1-year warranty for electronic equipment and components in case of manufacturing or installation related issues.

In terms of reef length, it will depend on the beach length to be protected, wave climate, and other hydrodynamic factors at the site (longshore currents, other structures, etc.). A rule of thumb is between 80% and 110% of the length of the beach to be protected or the distance from shore where the reef is to be installed, whichever is larger.

CCell’s standard reefs consist of a series of units, each measuring approximately 2.3m long, 2.2m wide, and 1.2m high. Each unit is an archlike structure formed from a steel mesh with an approximate weight of 70kg.

The structures are set to be permanent and with appropriate occasional maintenance, they should last indefinitely. Despite this, if for any reason the customer decides to remove these units, this process is much easier and faster than with other permanent solutions such as concrete breakwaters.

The reef units and sand anchors are made of carbon steel sourced locally. In Mexico, we fabricate the structures through a manufacturer partner and ship them to the site.

CCell reefs have been designed to be light, modular, and require no heavy machinery for installing them, favoring a rapid deployment, and minimising disruption on the site.

For the actual structure, the key stages of the installation include:

• Reef transported onto the beach and prepared for assembly.
• Units are assembled in shallow water and pair with anchors to form a single sequence.
• The PRM electronics is added beneath each reef units and connected with other PRMs to form a continuous chain.
• The sequence is floated and moved to its final position.
• The sequence is lowered beneath the water surface and secured on the seabed.
• The anchors are installed.
• The ends of the reef are demarcated with marker buoys to ensure visibility above the surface and facilitate safe navigation of boats and craft.

Note: This installation assumes sand anchors would be used to secure the reef in position. If other anchor types are required, the sequence of events may be altered to facilitate alternative anchoring.

On the other hand, the CCU should be installed at a secure point onshore, close to the power source (e.g. Grid or Solar). Power and communications cables are installed within a conduit pipe and run from the CCU to the reef. In sand the cable is ideally buried to a depth of at least 0.5m, using a combination of hand digging and pumping of air/water mix to create a trench. On rock, the cable is secure at regular intervals using clamps and rock bolts. On completion of the installation, the system tests are conducted to ensure all safety measure are fully operational and the desired range of electrical potential are achieved across the reef.

The reefs are assembled in bundles of 4 to 6 units at a time and floated into place prior to being anchored to the seabed. No heavy machinery is involved, up to 46m of reef can be positioned in a day, by a team of 5 people.

In general, the CCell reefs require very little maintenance although it is completely different than placing large blocks of concrete in the ocean and forgetting about them.

As we know, the sea is a very harsh environment. And even as we try to eliminate malfunctions, occasionally during normal operation, an underwater electrical connection might need replacement. Also, in rare situations, there can be objects trapped inside the units hitting the anodes for example. Our control systems will notice almost any anomaly and let us know which unit is experiencing issues to address them rapidly. In most cases, the required activities will be covered by CCell’s warranty or will fall under the service agreement scope.

For a 50W per meter requirement, the amount of energy (power x time) required is:

50W × 24h/day × 30day/month = 36kWh/month

Energy cost is highly dependent on the type of supply, and electricity cost fluctuations for the site. In Mexico, retail kWh for business is around MXN 3.327 (USD 0.168). This will give us an upper limit. On this basis, during the rock growth phase, the cost of energy for the reef would be around USD 6 a month per meter of reef.

However, whenever technically and financially feasible, we strongly encourage the installation and use of solar panels or alternative renewable sources. With solar systems getting cheaper by the day, this might result in cost savings in many cases.

No! During the rock growth process, the vicinity of the anodes develops an acid pH that which for the most part prevents biofouling over it. However, this acid dissipates into the ocean, having a negligible effect on marine life and ocean pH. The small amount of acid actually helps degrading pollutants and pathogens in seawater. The entire volume inside the reef units, the structure themselves and out of the reef units are not only safe for marine life but it actually boost the ecosystem as it provides refuge for fishes and other species.