The Danish Maritime Fund has backed a range of maritime technology projects as part of its second funding round of 2025, with DKK 16 million (approx. US$2.5 million) allocated across 18 different initiatives.
Funding is offered to support selected projects across the Fund’s focus areas: maritime entrepreneurship and innovation; the future maritime workforce; the green transition; and maritime safety & emergency preparedness.
Among the technology-related projects receiving funding is Søens Tech, which is developing an autonomous underwater vehicle specifically designed for monitoring the ocean and maritime installations, integrating AI for autonomous and remote operation.
Incremental Maritime has received backing to develop digital tools that help to automate green fuel selection to assist shipping companies in reducing CO₂ emissions, while IT University of Copenhagen has received support for a one-year research project that aims to reduce the time and computing power required to perform AI-assisted stowage planning for container ships.
Funding has been given to Danish Shipping to develop a digital route planning tool that will help reduce ships’ impact on marine biodiversity. The tool will give navigators access to environmental data that can provide data about sensitive marine areas and recommend sustainable behaviour patterns during route planning.
On the education side, Copenhagen Business School has received support for the development of three new HD online courses designed for seafarers on board ships. The project aims to upskill the maritime workforce through courses in Maritime Digitalisation, Macroeconomics and International Trade, and Business Economics and Shipping, which will be offered via distance learning to make it more attractive for seafarers to participate in further education.
The Danish Maritime Fund is also providing support to Smart Maritime Network (the publisher of this website) to develop its three-day international maritime event in Copenhagen, the Smart Maritime Annual Global Innovation Congress (SMAGIC’25). The event will focus on the implementation of smart and sustainable shipping systems through innovation, digitalisation, and partnership, bringing together Danish and international stakeholders for knowledge-sharing and collaboration.
