Telefónica Tech will showcase the power of connected aquatic drones to clean the seas at MWC

Telefónica Tech will demonstrate at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) how IoT and 5G connectivity are playing a key role in protecting marine ecosystems. The technology company will also unveil the pilot project for collecting waste and microplastics with connected aquatic drones, which it is working on together with the Port Authority of Valencia to get it up and running. The project will be carried out with the support of the Valenciaport Foundation, through its Opentop initiative, and Marina Port Valencia.

The connected aquatic drone solution, which will be presented on 4 March at the session ‘ Marine sustainability in action: IoT, 5G and aquatic drones tackling waste and microplastics’ in the Agora at Telefónica’s stand at MWC, is part of Telefónica Tech’s portfolio of services and is designed to protect aquatic environments through the use of technology.

In a context where plastics are estimated to account for between 60% and 80% of all marine litter, sensorisation, advanced connectivity and the use of aquatic drones can help organisations combat the impact of marine pollution on wildlife and its potential threat to human health.

To optimise collection efforts and reduce the carbon footprint of the sea cleaning process, Telefónica Tech is working on the design and implementation of a pilot project for the detection and removal of waste and microplastics using connected aquatic drones for the Port Authority of Valencia, with the support of the Valenciaport Foundation and Marina Port Valencia.

The pilot project will be carried out using an aquatic drone from the manufacturer RanMarine through the integrator Plastfree Ocean, which monitors water quality in real time and has the capacity to collect up to a maximum of 500 kilograms of floating waste per day thanks to its eight hours of autonomy and its range of more than 20 kilometres. It has a video camera and integrated LiDAR sensors to establish the device’s autonomous navigation routes, avoiding obstacles thanks to IoT-5G connectivity, and the data and images collected are sent to a platform for monitoring and analysis.

For more information: Telefónica at MWC 2026