SDU students want to solve Greenland’s waste problem

In several Greenlandic settlements, transporting waste away is difficult and expensive. The SDU students behind Aaveq Robotics are developing an unmanned maritime rubbish truck. Now, they have landed their first paying customer.

In one of the world’s most vulnerable environments, waste is piling up. Long distances and limited infrastructure make it difficult and expensive to transport waste away from Greenlandic settlements. As a result, it often accumulates in piles several metres high at open landfill sites close to towns and the sea.

The entrepreneurs behind Aaveq Robotics have experienced the waste problem at close hand. During a study trip to Greenland in 2023, they saw a landfill site burn for three days while a large cloud of smoke spread across the area.

Maritime rubbish trucks will collect the waste

Aaveq Robotics is working on a solution that functions as a maritime rubbish truck. The boat sails to smaller settlements and collects waste in large bags. The waste is then transported by sea to a regional hub.

From there, a larger ship can transport a consolidated load onwards instead of sailing long distances to collect smaller quantities of waste. In this way, Aaveq Robotics’ boat can serve the part of the logistics chain that is difficult for larger ships to reach.

From her computer in Odense, Nicoline can monitor and remotely control the boat several thousand kilometres away. Through a browser-based control centre, she can see the boat’s speed, depth, radar and video from six cameras on board.

In the long term, the ambition is for the boat to operate without a crew and be remotely controlled from land. This could reduce the need for labour on board and make transport less resource-intensive. For now, however, a team member must be on board for safety reasons.

First transport agreement puts the solution to the test

In autumn 2026, Aaveq Robotics has been given the opportunity to test the solution through a specific transport assignment.

For a period of two months, the company will transport waste for Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq – Anlæg og Miljø, Paamiut. With team member Magne on board, the boat will transport waste from the settlement of Kapisillit to Nuuk.

“The agreement is hugely important to us. It was the final piece of the puzzle we needed to put in place to really be able to run a business and accelerate our development,” says Nicoline.

The transport assignment gives the company the opportunity to gather experience, data and documentation that can bring it closer to unmanned operation.

From toy prototype to a real boat

The journey towards the first transport agreement began with a prototype consisting of a small toy boat with electronics in a lunch box on top.

As part of SDU Startup Station, SDU’s entrepreneurial environment for students, the company has received guidance and tools along the way to develop the business further, while funding from, among others, Innofounder and Innobooster has made it possible to develop the technical solution.

The small toy prototype has since been replaced by larger prototypes, and in December 2025 the team bought the boat that is now being tested under Greenlandic conditions.

“It has been a very ambitious project from the start. Now it has actually become a reality, and it is an incredible feeling to have put so many hours of work into something that actually works,” says Nicoline.

The team behind Aaveq Robotics Nicoline, Mathias, Magnus og Magne and their boat.

New routes in the future

The experience gained from the transport agreement will show how the solution works in practice and form the basis for the company’s next steps.

In the short term, this could mean that the company can establish the solution in more places in Greenland where waste transport poses a significant challenge.

In the longer term, Aaveq Robotics sees opportunities within other forms of maritime logistics, such as transporting post, medicine and groceries.