We are looking for bold, innovative teams
We are calling for innovators, researchers, and startups from the EU, EFTA, and UK to team up.
Språng Challenge: The Baltic Marine Watchdog
Breakthrough approaches needed. Bold thinkers wanted. Are you ready to build, scale and push boundaries? Tomorrow starts today.
During 10 months and through two stages, teams will develop, test, and demonstrate real-world solutions. You define the approach while we provide financing. Beyond financial support, we offer hands-on testing opportunities, expert guidance, and access to expert networks.
The Baltic Marine Watchdog Challenge
The Baltic Sea hosts critical underwater infrastructure, commercial shipping, energy systems, and environmental assets. At the same time, monitoring both above and below the surface remains notoriously challenging. This makes the detection and identification of suspicious maritime activity complex and costly.
The challenge aims to accelerate the development of autonomous marine systems capable of detecting, identifying, tracking, and documenting activity on and below the surface of the Baltic Sea. To be effective, these systems must perform reliably in dense traffic, darkness, harsh weather conditions, and under GNSS disruption.
The required technologies may already exist in part. The task is to integrate platforms, sensors, software, and data into intelligent, autonomous, resilient, cost-effective, and scalable systems. These should provide situational awareness, reliable decision support, and deterrence, while maintaining human oversight and control.
Webinar
Learn more about the Språng Challenge: The Baltic Marine Watchdog and get your questions answered during our upcoming webinar on 11 November.
Challenge launch on October 8
Sounds interesting? The Challenge launches on October 8 2026. More information will be published.
Explore the Baltic Marine Watchdog Challenge - to be published on this website on October 8
FAQ for Språng Challenge
What is a Språng Challenge?
A Språng Challenge finances teams with breakthrough innovations, enabling them to develop, test, and demonstrate solutions to urgent societal needs. Rather than prescribing a method, the challenge sets the end goal and lets teams innovate freely within set boundaries.
The process runs in competitive stages with multiple teams developing solutions in parallel. Progression is based strictly on proven demonstrations and results, advancing only the most promising innovations.
Our goals:
- Invest in bold ideas that address unresolved societal challenges that might otherwise go unmet.
- To accelerate innovation and the development of breakthrough technology.
- To create conditions for new fields of technology and for companies to emerge, scale and become globally competitive.
Any questions?
Team Breakthrough Innovation
Last updated 7 October 2026