The LIVING PORTS is a European Commission Horizon 2020 funded project to facilitate a large-scale implementation at the Port of Vigo, Galicia, Spain. In alignment with the EU Green Deal, Marine Directive, and Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, de-risking and scaling of environmentally-sensitive industrialization projects is an urgent priority. The LIVING PORTS project is designed to catalyze a fundamental change in the Coastal and Marine Infrastructure (CMI) industry’s operations by shifting away from obsolete “grey” construction and towards nature-inclusive infrastructure with structural, environmental, and socio-economic co-benefits.
The consortium that conducts this project is built of four partners from three countries: ECOncrete Tech Ltd, the project coordinator, and an Israeli technology provider for ecological CMI solutions; the Port of Vigo, one of Europe’s greenest ports; Cardama Shipyard, a Spanish shipbuilding and ship repair company; Technical University of Denmark (DTU) Civil Engineering and Aquatic Resources Institutes.
LIVING PORTS will include two large-scale demonstration sites and their production on-site is expected for February 2022:
- 330m² ECOncrete sea wall and an underwater monitoring and community outreach deck developed by Cardama Shipyard to show the citizens that “the blue change” is possible and build awareness accordingly; The floating deck will be supported by five ECOncrete bio-enhancing moorings;
- 100 ECOncrete Coastalock units will provide coastal stabilization as well as habitat creation and ecological uplift. During the three-year project (2021- 2024), biological, structural and first of a kind noise pollution reduction monitoring activities will be conducted between DTU and ECOncrete.
The Port of Vigo is an institution that puts the environment first and wants to be a pioneer for the Ports ecosystem in Spain and Europe.