New Resilience Center in Louisiana Aims to Preserve the World’s Coastlines

One of the innovative avenues that has been opened by 3D printing, is in the field of conservation and ecology. While not the foremost subject in the additive manufacturing world, there have been several large names taking part in nature conservation and wildlife habitat resilience projects such as Volvo in 2019. There has also been a multitude of startups and university research programs that have been utilizing 3D printing as a means of protecting and creating pieces of the environment that help maintain the biodiversity and landscape of the land, coasts, and seas of the world.

As part of a push for the preservation and conservation of the American Gulf Coast, energy sector investment firm Danos Ventures has partnered with Natrx, a company specializing in “nature-based coastal resilience solutions” which includes 3D printing technologies. Together, they will be establishing a “resilience technology center of excellence” in Amelia, Louisiana.

The new facility in Louisiana is large enough to accommodate the construction, testing, and shipping of ExoForm modules worldwide.

The new Amelia facility is a lofty 5,000 square feet (464.5 m²) and is planned to become the center of advanced manufacturing, testing, and shipping center for Natrx’s ExoForm coastal resilience modules. These specialized pieces of artificial wildlife habitats and easily constructible barriers are made from DryForming technology, which allows ExoForm module pieces to be modeled, 3D printed and ready for deployment in a single day. These specialized modules, affectionately known as “Cajun Coral” can be placed along rivers, coasts and waterways, to help limit erosion, preserve wildlife and even create artificial underwater reefs.

“Louisiana is one of the areas in the country most impacted by coastal erosion, and it is also the birthplace of Natrx. […] The state’s coastal erosion crisis, coupled with its commitment to finding breakthrough approaches to addressing these challenges, makes south Louisiana the ideal location for our new facility” said Natrx co-founder and president, Matt Campbell, highlighting the multiple uses that ExoForms can provide even in just the local region.

Their partner, Danos Ventures also shares their enthusiasm, with CEO Eric Danos stating, “Protecting vital coastlines and waterways in our region is a top priority for our customers and communities. By partnering with Natrx, we can maximize the adoption of innovative new technologies—delivering jobs and economic value locally and real impact globally.”

“Cajun Coral” once placed in the wild, the 3D printed ExoForms become host to a wide range of biodiversity.

Indeed, it is the global mindset that is the end goal for Natrx’s ExoForms, with the team already preparing for a project restoring coral reefs in Hawaii in addition to the work in Louisiana. Danos meanwhile has been building ExoForms with the Coastal Conservation Association in the Gulf of Mexico and has highlighted the key positioning of the new resilience technology center, as its location in the world’s shipping lanes can enable future distribution of ExoForms to projects around the world. You can read more about the new resilience center on the websites of both Danos and Natrx here.

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*All photo credits: Natrx