The German Aerospace Center (DLR) has marked the keel-laying of its new seagoing technology platform, Modularis, at the FSG Shipyard in Flensburg, officially beginning the vessel’s assembly.
The event, held on May 20, 2026, included the traditional coin ceremony in which representatives of the DLR executive board and the shipyard placed a lucky coin beneath the ship’s first prefabricated steel module before it was positioned on the build site.
The 48m-long, 11.5m-wide vessel will serve as a floating laboratory for innovative maritime technologies, with a capacity for up to 20 people. The name Modularis combines the adjective ‘modular’ with the Latin ‘maris’ (of the sea), reflecting the platform’s intended use: flexible testing of new technologies under real operating conditions. The German government is funding the project with €36m (US$42m).
Research focus areas will include climate-compatible propulsion systems, autonomous technologies and security and defense applications. On board, DLR researchers will test fuel cell, battery, sensor and automation systems, and trial alternative fuels including methanol, ammonia and hydrogen, for which the vessel will be fitted with an experimental engine room. The platform will also support the deployment of uncrewed systems such as drones.
Modularis will be equipped with redundant safety and control systems, enabling novel, uncertified energy, navigation and communication systems to be tested for the first time. A digital twin will enable simulations and analyses to complement practical development work. Test voyages are planned primarily in the North Sea, Baltic Sea and Mediterranean, with missions of up to seven days.
“With the Modularis seagoing technology platform, we are creating a globally unique foundation for maritime transformation,” said Anke Kaysser-Pyzalla, chair of the DLR executive board. “New energy, navigation and communication systems can in future be integrated, tested and brought to certification readiness more quickly under real operating conditions.”
Kaysser-Pyzalla also extended an open invitation to external partners: “Today, we already invite our partners from government agencies, industry and business – in particular SMEs and startups – to come on board and test new maritime technologies together with DLR.”
Construction is being led by Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven, which has subcontracted hull construction to FSG Shipyard. Both shipyards are part of the Heinrich Rönner Group. The vessel will be transferred to Bremerhaven in the autumn of this year and is scheduled for completion in 2027, with Kiel as its planned home port. DLR is also expanding its Kiel facility with new office, research and laboratory spaces with direct water access on the MaK Campus.
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