A total of nine finalists presented their concepts at AIDA headquarters in Rostock. They had previously qualified for the final round through an application process that attracted over 150 ideas.
"Today, we witnessed how concrete ideas for the future of cruising emerge from a wide range of perspectives. The quality and diversity of the concepts presented demonstrate the potential inherent in the exchange between start-ups, technology companies, the scientific community, and maritime practitioners. With the three winning projects, we now intend to examine the next steps and work together to determine how compelling concepts can be transformed into concrete applications," says Dirk Inger, Senior Vice President Sustainability at AIDA Cruises and a member of the jury.
The winning projects will have the opportunity to further develop their ideas in collaboration with AIDA Cruises through an implementation study or to test them as pilot projects aboard the AIDA fleet.
The winners of the AIDA Innovation Hub 2026 are:
Decarbonization Category
revincus GmbH (Weimar) was honored in the Decarbonization category. The company has developed a technology that allows thermal energy to be recovered from wastewater and reused on board. An automated cleaning system ensures that heat transfer surfaces remain efficient during operation. This approach can help reduce the energy demand of hotel operations on board.
Sustainability Category
In the Sustainability category, the German Aerospace Center (Stuttgart) prevailed with its "WoodShip" project. The concept explores how wood can be increasingly used in selected ship structures and exterior applications in the future. The focus here is on elements such as privacy screens, cladding, and balcony-related applications. The combination of renewable materials, lightweight construction, fire safety, and standardized components opens up new perspectives for more resource-efficient shipbuilding.
Category: AI Tools & Smart Solutions
In the "AI Tools & Smart Solutions" category, Mannheim-based contagt GmbH secured a collaboration with AIDA Cruises thanks to its digital indoor navigation system. The solution is designed to help guests find their way around the ship and has the potential to be integrated into existing digital applications as a white-label feature. Multilingual content, accessible routing, and location-based information can improve accessibility while simultaneously relieving the crew of the burden of answering wayfinding inquiries.
Ideas from seven European cities
The nine finalists hail from Rostock, Hamburg, Weimar, Stuttgart, Mannheim, Munich, and Madrid. The final round thus reflects not only a wide range of topics but also brings together diverse regional innovations. Participants included startups, established technology providers, research institutions, and maritime industry players. The finalist projects range from solutions for energy recovery and technical system efficiency to new approaches regarding materials, the circular economy, and noise reduction, as well as privacy-compliant analysis and navigation tools. Other concepts focus on digitally connecting guests, destinations, and local offerings.
Interdisciplinary expertise on the expert jury
An expert jury comprising representatives from academia, industry, and the cruise sector selected the winning projects. The jury included Dr. Anisa Rizvanolli, Team Leader for Maritime Scientific Computing and Optimization at the Fraunhofer Center for Maritime Logistics and Services; Prof. Dr. Meike Jipp, Divisional Board Member for Energy and Transport at the German Aerospace Center (DLR); Prof. Dr. Ali Arnaout, Professor and Head of the International Management degree program at Wismar University of Applied Sciences; and Dr. ...Christoph Schladör, Vice President Decarbonization at Carnival Maritime, and Dirk Inger, Senior Vice President Sustainability at AIDA Cruises.
The evaluation focused on factors such as the level of innovation, feasibility, and the relevance of the concepts to the maritime industry.
Panel and keynote provide further impetus
The event’s agenda featured, among other things, the panel discussion “Innovative Cruising: Smart Visions for a Strong Future.” Participants included Christina Hankel, Vice President Human Resources Management at AIDA Cruises; Fabian Feldhaus, CEO and Co-Founder of Flagship Founders GmbH; and Dr. Martin Setzkorn, Managing Director of the Z...
