Innovator's Edge: How Deniz Tekerek's Archireef Built the World's First Artificial Reef Structure "At Archireef, we restore corals and other marine ecosystems via eco-engineered and patented products and use cutting-edge monitoring technologies, such as environmental DNA and computer vision, to track restoration performance."

The Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute, a global nonprofit foundation established by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund, hosted its inaugural FII8 Investment Day during its 8th annual gathering in Riyadh last November.

The FII8 Investment Day, held under the theme of "Infinite Horizons: Investing Today, Shaping Tomorrow," showcased startup companies whose tech solutions are tackling world's most pressing global challenges in artificial intelligence and robotics, sustainability, health and education.

Archireef

Marine ecosystems, such as coral reefs, are critical to the survival of our species, but their future seems uncertain. The World Economic Forum and the journal PLOS Climate state that if Earth becomes 1.5°C warmer than its pre-industrial levels (currently, we are at a 1.1°C increase in temperature), 99% of the world's reefs would experience heatwaves that would be too frequent for them to recover.

However, Deniz Tekerek, co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer, Archireef, a nature tech company with offices in Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi, strongly believes that humanity still has a chance to act and restore corals. "At Archireef, we restore corals and other marine ecosystems via eco-engineered and patented products and use cutting-edge monitoring technologies, such as environmental DNA and computer vision, to track restoration performance," he says.

The company designed the world's first artificial reef structure as custom-built, 3D-printed terracotta clay. In March 2023, Archireef completed its first installation by deploying 160 of its proprietary Reef Tiles, in collaboration with the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD). "We sit at the junction of artificial intelligence (AI) and 3D-printing to optimize our solutions for success," Tekerek explains. "Our products also incorporate elements of biomimicry and allow nature to settle in the most appropriate way. To achieve this, we created custom machinery and each of our products is either patented or has a patent pending. The combination of all of the above gives us an edge in the market. For example, our Reef Tiles are outperforming traditional methods by a factor of at least four."

Archireef is one of the world's 320 early adopters of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), a market-led, science-based and government-supported global initiative. "It is a framework that goes beyond net zero and empowers us to focus on net-positive outcomes," Tekerek says. "We help corporations adopt sustainable strategies and deliver ocean literacy to both students and corporations, to give them an edge in the economy of the future.

Starting with a small-scale prototype, Archireef now has a full-scale production facility in the UAE, and Tekerek explains that their ambition is to bring the Archireef solutions to
all relevant parts of the world. "Our goal is to restore 125 hectares of marine ecosystems by 2030, to deliver ocean literacy to one million children, and to extract biodiversity credits from ocean restoration by the end of 2025," he says. "We believe that all of the above can be achieved through functional and committed public-private partnerships."

Within this context, Tekerek appreciate the support from FII8. "It was an incredible opportunity to meet key decision-makers in a single location," he says. "It allowed us to lend a voice to the ocean and to highlight its importance to our economy and our collective future. We expect that our FII membership will enable us to connect with key decision-makers at a deeper level and that these connections will foster partnerships."

Related: Archireef: Using 3D Printing to Save the Coral Reef Ecosystem