FAQ

The MARLIN Challenge is a multi-stage innovation competition organized by the Cyberagentur for maritime security-related application areas. We are looking for innovative technological approaches related to maritime communication, communications security, cyber security, sensor technology, and radio and network technology.

The competition is particularly aimed at startups and SMEs, colleges, universities, and research institutes, as well as companies and project teams from the marine, shipbuilding, electronics, and defense industries or related technology fields.

The challenge consists of several stages: Starting with the call for entries, followed by the submission of brief proposals and review by the jury, the up to six finalist teams will then move on to the in-depth development phase, culminating in the final evaluation, which includes a demo week and the announcement of the winners.

The idea descriptions in the form of a Brief Concept must be submitted exclusively electronically and in German or English to angebote@cyberagentur.de by no later than July 2, 2026, at 2:00 p.m.

After reviewing the brief concepts, up to six competitors will be selected for the next phase.

Yes. Selected teams will receive a contractually agreed expense allowance during the in-depth development phase. In addition, competition prizes will be awarded in the final phase.

First, the submitted documents are reviewed for compliance with formal and contentrequirements. This is followed by a technical (qualitativly) evaluation of the Brief Concepts. The Grand-Jury will evaluate the Solution Concepts based on the performance of the developed solutions in real-world testing and the submitted documentation.

The practical validation takes place in a Navy sandbox under realistic conditions.

The challenge is explicitly aimed at relevant stakeholders in EU and NATO countries. Actual participation is subject to the formal conditions of the call for proposals.

Questions regarding the challenge should be directed to the Cyberagentur via the following email address: angebote@cyberagentur.de