A decade ago, we met Shimrit Perkol-Finkel in a startup incubator in Tel Aviv. She was one of those unforgettable founders who combined scientific rigor with a deep sense of purpose. As a marine ecologist and co-founder of ECOncrete, she challenged the idea that seawalls, ports, and breakwaters were destroying marine ecosystems.
Her vision was to redesign concrete so that infrastructure needed around cities and harbors could protect coastlines while creating habitat for fish, oysters, and other marine life. Her invention has been installed in breakwalls all over the world from New York to Tel Aviv.
In 2021, Shimrit was killed in a tragic scooter accident in Tel Aviv. She was just 43 years old. Her death sent shockwaves through Israel’s environmental and startup communities.
But her vision did not end there.
This week, ECOncrete announced a $14 million funding round led by Builders Vision, with participation from Barclays Climate Ventures, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation’s ReOcean Fund, BDT & MSD, DCP, and Open Road Impact.
Now led by co-founder and CEO Dr. Ido Sella, the company is scaling globally. ECOncrete’s biodiversity-enhancing concrete has already been used in marine infrastructure projects from Rotterdam and New York to San Diego, the Mediterranean, and New Zealand.
Over the past 18 months alone, the company has delivered more than 20 projects and created over 90,000 square meters of marine habitat.
Shimrit believed that infrastructure should heal rather than harm. We are happy to see the dream is still alive.
