Imagine a small Roomba that works on water instead of your living room floor. RanMarine built autonomous drones called WasteSharks that swim around harbours and rivers, scooping up plastic, oil, and invasive plants. They work in coordinated swarms — the more drones you add, the smarter and faster the cleanup gets. When they're full, they return to a docking station, dump the waste, and head back out on their own.
Harbours, urban waterways, and river deltas accumulate massive floating waste — plastics, oils, chemicals, and invasive plants — that damages ecosystems, clogs infrastructure, and violates environmental regulations. Current cleanup relies on manned boats and manual labour, which is expensive, inconsistent, and cannot provide continuous coverage. An estimated 4.8 to 12.7 million metric tons of plastic enters the oceans every year.
RanMarine built the WasteShark system: autonomous water drones that work in coordinated swarms to collect solid waste, liquid waste, and harmful biomass from harbours and waterways, plus the SharkPod — an automated docking station for launching, retrieval, and waste unloading. Deliverables confirmed full multi-drone deployment and successful 8-hour autonomous missions with self-return.
If you are a port authority dealing with floating waste that threatens vessel operations and environmental compliance — this project built autonomous drone swarms that patrol harbour waters continuously. A swarm of 10 drones delivers 120% more efficiency than a single unit. The drones run 8-hour shifts autonomously, including self-docking, replacing the need for manned cleanup boats.
If you are a municipal water authority struggling with plastic debris and harmful biomass clogging urban waterways — WasteShark drones can be deployed near known trash chokepoints to intercept waste before it reaches open waters. The system learns from prior missions and heads directly to the largest debris concentrations, reducing manual cleanup costs.
If you are an industrial facility managing liquid waste such as oils and chemicals in retention ponds or discharge canals — the WasteShark system handles solid waste, liquid waste, and harmful biomass collection. Drones operate autonomously from a SharkPod docking station, providing continuous monitoring and cleanup without dedicated crew.
Specific pricing is not disclosed in the project data. The EU invested EUR 1,588,895 to bring this technology to market through the SME Instrument Phase 2. For commercial pricing, you would need to contact RanMarine Technology directly.
Yes. The system is designed for swarm operation — a swarm of 10 drones achieves 120% more efficiency than a single drone. The SharkPod docking station handles automated launching, retrieval, and waste unloading, enabling continuous coverage of large water areas.
RanMarine Technology BV (Netherlands) is the sole partner and owns the technology. As an SME that received EIC SME Instrument funding, they are a commercial company. Licensing or purchase arrangements would be negotiated directly with RanMarine.
Based on deliverable data, the autonomous drone demonstrated a successful 8-hour deployment including autonomous return to the docking station. The SharkPod handles waste unloading, allowing rapid turnaround for the next mission cycle.
According to the project objectives, WasteShark handles three categories: solid waste (plastics and non-biodegradables), liquid waste (oils and chemicals), and harmful biomass (pest plants). It can operate in combined-waste environments.
The project targets a 12-32% worldwide decrease of plastic debris reaching open waters. While specific regulatory certifications are not detailed in the project data, the system was deployed in real harbour conditions as demonstrated by the full multi-drone deployment deliverables.
The system is self-contained: WasteShark drones plus a SharkPod docking station. The drones learn from prior missions and navigate autonomously to debris concentrations. Based on available project data, integration requires installing the SharkPod at a waterside location.
This is a single-company project: RanMarine Technology BV from the Netherlands, a commercial SME that received EUR 1,588,895 through the EIC SME Instrument Phase 2. The 100% industry composition with zero academic partners signals this is a product-driven company focused on commercialization, not a research lab. The SME Instrument Phase 2 is one of the EU's most competitive funding schemes, reserved for companies with a clear path to market. This means the technology is real, the company is serious, and they are actively looking for customers and deployment partners.
RanMarine Technology BV is a Dutch SME — contact their commercial team via ranmarine.io
Want an introduction to the WasteShark team? SciTransfer can connect you with the right person at RanMarine Technology and brief them on your specific water cleanup challenge.
