Launch of the SIMON Research Project: Autonomous Robotics Enhances Water Protection in the Port of Hamburg
Visuelles Rendering der Unterwasserdrohne, erstellt für das gerade startende Forschungsprojekt SIMON. © Universität zu Lübeck/HPA
Together with bbe Moldaenke GmbH, the Ministry for the Environment, Climate, Energy, and Agriculture (BUKEA), and the University of Lübeck, the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) is launching the innovative research project SIMON (Smart Water Protection Inspired by 4-Dimensional Underwater Monitoring)
Hamburg, 10 February 2026
Together with bbe Moldaenke GmbH, the Authority for Environment, Climate, Energy and Agriculture (BUKEA), and the University of Lübeck, the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) is launching the innovative research project SIMON (Smart Water Protection Inspired by 4‑Dimensional Underwater Monitoring). The initiative is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) as part of the Digital GreenTech Robotics call. With a planned duration of 24 months and a total budget of around one million euros, SIMON aims to explore new ways of using autonomous underwater robotics in environmental water monitoring. HPA will receive approximately 232,000 euros in funding. Intelligent robotics is expected to help detect ecological changes in rivers at an early stage and provide a basis for sustainable decision‑making. There is a particularly high demand for precise, continuous, and autonomous measurement techniques in underwater monitoring. The SIMON project focuses on developing and testing autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) equipped with modern sensors in the tide‑influenced Elbe areas of the Port of Hamburg. They will collect data on, among others, suspended sediment concentrations, oxygen levels, algae composition, oil residues, and their potential sources. The collected data will be directly integrated into the digital port twin to detect and visualize environmental changes in real time. Another key element is the development and testing of autonomous underwater navigation methods.
Katharina Fegebank, Senator for Environment, Climate, Energy and Agriculture
“Protecting our waters is a central task for Hamburg’s sustainable development. With the SIMON research project, we are relying on innovative technologies to identify environmental changes in the Port of Hamburg early and take targeted action. I am particularly pleased that the Institute for Hygiene and Environment, with its extensive expertise in modern sensor development and environmental measurement, is making a significant contribution to the project’s success.”
Jens Meier, CEO, Hamburg Port Authority
“With SIMON, HPA and its project partners are setting another milestone on the path toward a digitalized, sustainable, and resilient port operation. The combination of robotics, real‑time data, and a digital twin creates new opportunities to detect environmental changes early and respond effectively.”
Sönke Kobarg, Managing Director, bbe Moldaenke GmbH
“For more than 30 years, we have been developing, manufacturing, and supplying sensors for water monitoring. SIMON enables us to adapt and deploy bbe sensors for use in AUVs. From our perspective, water monitoring using AUVs is both contemporary and forward‑looking.”
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Mladen Berekovic, Head of the Institute for Computer Engineering, University of Lübeck
“With the SIMON project, we build on our previous work in autonomous robotic systems — especially Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) — and aim to equip them with new intelligent sensor concepts and embedded computing solutions. These technologies should allow AUVs to handle complex tasks that pose high risks or substantial costs when carried out by humans. It is particularly important to us to transfer scientific findings into practical applications.”
A downloadable example rendering of the underwater drone is available on the Hamburg Port Authority website.
Contact
Hamburg Port Authority AöR
Pressestelle
Tel.: +49 40 42847-2300
E-Mail: pressestelle@hpa.hamburg.de
Since 2005, the Hamburg Port Authority has been operating forward‑looking, integrated port management and is active wherever efficiency, safety, and economic viability of the Port of Hamburg are at stake. HPA addresses the increasing demands on the port with intelligent and innovative solutions. The HPA is responsible for efficient, resource‑saving, and sustainable planning and implementation of infrastructure measures in the port and acts as the main contact for all questions regarding waterside and landside infrastructure, maritime traffic safety, port railway systems, real‑estate management, and economic conditions in the port. It provides the necessary space and assumes all sovereign and port‑related service tasks. Additionally, HPA markets specialized port‑specific expertise and represents Hamburg’s port interests nationally and internationally.