Can 3D printing save the coral reefs?

The oceans produce one in every two oxygen atoms. Coral is like the ocean's rainforest. But it's disappearing, and fast. Ulrike Pfreundt has made it her life's work to find a solution.

Pfreundt is a marine biologist at the Federal Institute of Technology ETH Zurich who gets emotional when she talks about coral death. Through 3D printing, she’s found a way to make artificial reefs and replace some of the coral that’s being lost by providing structures for new coral to grow. 

She’s now testing the structures in the lab to see how to get coral larvae to start growing on them. Ultimately, she hopes to be able to deploy her printed inventions in the ocean to help grow new coral and support the vast ecosystems that depend on it.

In the lead up to October’s parliamentary elections, this is the eigth in a video series dedicated to looking at how political decisions affect the everyday lives and work of people in Switzerland.

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