Jan De Nul Pilots New Aquapod on USVs to Remove Marine Waste

19 September 2025

Jan De Nul Vaquita 04 USV. (Image credit: Jan De Nul)

An estimated 70 to 80% of all ocean plastic reaches the sea through rivers, adding up to as much as 23 million tonnes per year worldwide. As a World Builder, Jan De Nul works on and around water every day, and the company is committed to finding ways to protect rivers and oceans from pollution. That is why Jan De Nul is now testing an underwater pump, the Aquapod^®, on the Dender in collaboration with the city of Aalst and De Vlaamse Waterweg.

The Aquapod, developed by Clean Sea Solutions, is an underwater pump that continuously draws in water and waste, collecting the debris in a storage container. The company is testing the Aquapod for the very first time on the Dender, near the railway bridge on Dokter André Sierensstraat, right next to our Aalst office. The city of Aalst is responsible for collecting and processing the gathered waste.

Smart Teamwork with Vessels

The Aquapod can operate fully autonomously, but for even greater impact, Jan De Nul combines it with their Vaquitas, uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) they usually deploy to map the seabed during our projects. Equipped with robotic arms, the Vaquitas can pick up floating waste on the water’s surface and bring it to the Aquapod.