PortXL celebrates a decade of innovation and unveils the 2025 Cohort
Rotterdam, September 8, 2025. PortXL, the world’s first maritime start-up accelerator, is proud to announce its 2025 cohort, marking a significant milestone as the organization celebrates 10 years of fostering innovation and driving technological advancements in the maritime industry.
Since its inception in 2015, PortXL has been at the forefront of connecting start-ups and scale-ups with industry-leading corporations, investors, and mentors, creating an ecosystem for growth and collaboration. Over the last ten years, 132 start-ups have been part of PortXL’s acceleration program, boasting an impressive 83% survival rate. Over €191+ million of funding has been raised by its alumni.
The 2025 acceleration program received a high number of applications from around the globe. After a rigorous selection process, PortXL has chosen a diverse group of innovative start-ups poised to tackle some of the industry’s most pressing challenges.
“Celebrating our 10th anniversary in 2025 is a testament to the need for innovation and the incredible community we’ve built,” says Christel Pullens, Director a.i. of PortXL. “The maritime industry is undergoing a profound transformation, and our 2025 cohort represents the next wave of pioneers who will shape its future. We are excited to support them on their journey and connect them with our partners.”
100-day program
The 2025 cohort will participate in an intensive 100-day program designed to scale their businesses, refine their solutions, and secure strategic partnerships. Throughout the program, they will benefit from mentorship and tailored support, as well as opportunities to pilot their technologies with partners in PortXL’s ecosystem, such as the Port of Rotterdam, GTT, Dutch Ministry of Defence, and the Municipality of Rotterdam.
The PortXL team and its partners are confident that the 2025 cohort will contribute to a more sustainable, resilient, and efficient maritime industry.
The 2025 PortXL start-up and scale-up acceleration program’s cohort consists of:
- 13 Mari
- Amphitrite
- Ayrton Energy
- FibriTech
- Flyability
- Hydrogenium
- NanoSieve
- SungreenH2
- Newlight Blue – Wildcard
13 Mari
13 Mari is a (BG/USA) startup specializing in novel drag reduction technology for ships. They develop and implement ‘Flowsmart’ elements, ripple-shaped protrusions that attach to a vessel’s hull, reducing drag and improving fuel efficiency. This technology, inspired by natural structures like dunes and whale tubercles, helps control water flow around the hull, leading to lower fuel consumption and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. 13 Mari’s solutions are passive, always on, decoupled from the propulsor, and can be applied to both new and existing vessels with no off-hire.
Amphitrite
Reliable and accurate data is essential for decision making at sea. Amphitrite (FR) is specialized in advanced satellite and in-situ data, processed in real-time, for maritime decision-making. Their technological innovations are the result of research work carried out in recent years at the CNRS and the Ecole Polytechnique, by the founders of Amphitrite. They are based on data fusion and artificial intelligence applied to the huge amount of satellite observations and in-situ data. They provide solutions for green shipping, defence, and environmental applications.
Ayrton Energy
Ayrton Energy (CAN) is redefining hydrogen logistics with its proprietary e-LOHC™ technology, enabling hydrogen to be stored and transported safely in a liquid form using existing fuel infrastructure. This breakthrough removes one of the biggest barriers to hydrogen adoption – costly, specialized distribution networks – and opens the door to rapid, scalable deployment worldwide. By making clean hydrogen as practical as today’s liquid fuels, Ayrton accelerates the global shift to a low-carbon economy. ayrtonenergy.com
FibriTech
FibriTech (PL) is an innovative industrial biotech company specializing in the biomanufacturing of unique 3D spatial biomaterials with advanced properties. Using proprietary technology, FibriTech develops high-performance, eco-friendly solutions that address key challenges in agriculture, construction, oil spill cleanup, and environmental protection.
The company’s proprietary manufacturing process enables the production of sustainable materials that replace traditional synthetic alternatives.https://fibri.tech/
Flyability
Flyability (CH) is developing drones to inspect industrial assets. Today, these inspections are still mostly carried out manually by workers who are put in dangerous situations by having to enter confined spaces or climb high up to assess the state of a certain asset. Flyability aims to send drones instead of humans to carry out these missions and remotely collect visual data, digital twins, and UTMs. Given the highly demanding environment in which they operate, the drones are surrounded by a cage to ensure collision tolerance, making them very robust for this type of mission. https://www.flyability.com/
Hydrogenium
Hydrogenium(NL) presents a groundbreaking and sustainable solution to the problem of PFAS contamination in surface water. The innovation is based on a unique, circular, and biobased technology that utilizes residual flows. The PFAS BioFilter is developed from locally sourced wood chips obtained from municipal green waste, making the system not only effective but also contributing to a circular economy and environmental sustainability.https://www.hglab.nl/
NanoSieve
NanoSieve (USA) is a disruptive gas safety technology startup with proprietary gas remediation technology that both detects and actively removes flammable and toxic gases in real time—protecting lives, infrastructure, and critical assets while reducing emissions. Unlike traditional gas sensors, which only detect and trigger alarms, NanoSieve’s technology delays and prevents dangerous gas concentrations, reduces gas emissions, and maintains safe levels while ensuring compliance with rigorous industry standards. NanoSieve delivers superior gas safety protection in environments where detection and alarms alone are insufficient. Our applications include maritime, energy, utilities, transportation, C&I, defense, and oil & gas,—industries where gas buildup in confined, indoor, or enclosed spaces remains a persistent safety, emissions, and regulatory challenge.https://nanosieve.co/
SunGreenH2
SunGreenH2 (SG) revolutionizes electrolysis by leveraging proprietary nanomaterials and AI-driven design. This approach significantly boosts hydrogen production efficiency and cuts costs, enabling scalable green hydrogen production at a fraction of the price of traditional systems. Their core components for electrolyzer cells are manufactured using proprietary advanced nanostructured materials integrated directly into the electrolyzer components. Electrolysers made with their materials increase production and decrease energy consumption without using expensive platinum group metals. https://www.sungreenh2.com/
Newlight Blue – Wildcard
Newlight Blue (USA) is a shipping decarbonization technology company that provides a plug-in hybrid system to convert existing diesel engines into hybrid hydrogen-diesel powerhouses, reducing fuel consumption by up to 30% and cutting emissions significantly. The system works by injecting hydrogen into existing engine air intakes, improving fuel combustion and efficiency, offering a low-capital expenditure solution with a relatively quick return on investment. https://www.newlight.blue/
