DroneHorizon & Innovation Dock 2025 Rotterdam

On the 4th and 5th of September the inaugral edition of the DroneHorizon and Innovation Dock took place in the city of Rotterdam.

Thursday 4th September - DroneHorizon

The event kicked off on Thursday with a packed conference at the Maassilo, a former grain silo, situated in the Port of Rotterdam.

The conference was opened and moderated by Eurocontrol's 'face of UTM', Munish Khurana. Over 40 expert speakers took part in the conference.

A full conference room enjoyed informative and expert discussions on how autonomous and unmanned systems are leading the way in innovation. (photos credit: Online Beeldvorming)

In the afternoon the attendees were able to attend various parrallel workshops.

During the closing of the day the 2026 event was announced. DroneHorizon 2026 will be hosted by the Port of Antwerp.

Friday 5th September - Innovation Dock

The following day we moved to the nearby location of the Innovation Dock where over 30 organisations were showcasing their innovative solutions in autonomous and unmanned systems and solutions. Various demonstrations were also planned.

I personally found this a very valuable part of the event as you could easily connect to the various companies experts and see 'hands on' how their systems are providing vital services to their customers. Also systems in development and future plans were on display. The collaboration between the various ports authorities and organisations was extremely productive.

The Innovation Dock space was also open to the public and would continue through the weekend as part of the co-located World Harbour Days event which was held over weekend. The 'Harbour Days' did provide some welcome distractions as you can see from one of the pictures below.

An incredibly enjoyable event and I am already looking forward to DroneHorizon 2026 at the Port of Antwerp.


Drone Delivery Services (DDS) successfully completed a Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) test flight of over 11 kilometers with this hydrogen-powered delivery drone in August.


The hydrogen delivery unit for the drone.

Wing Drone from Drone Delivery Services (DDS)

DroneQ Robotic's Xplorer 1 vessel. The unmanned vessel (USV) is equipped with various payloads for accurate and effective collection of survey grade data.

Drone Docking station.

A welcome distraction: Just before Innovation Dock opended. This impressive vessel docked alongside the event area. HNLMS Den Helder is a replenishment oiler of the Royal Netherlands Navy. Also known as the Combat Support Ship (CSS). Many of the crew visited the Innovation Hub for their own welcome distraction.

Photos Credit : ATC Network