AKER QRILL COMPANY WINS PRESTIGIOUS GARTNER INNOVATION AWARD

Aker QRILL Company wins prestigious Gartner Innovation Award. The Norwegian industry-leading krill harvester recognised for ground-breaking AI technology ahead of multinational corporations.

Aker QRILL Company has won the Gartner Eye on Innovation Awards for Advanced Manufacturing in the EMEA region for its revolutionary Krillviz technology platform, emerging victorious from a field of over 200 global entries.

The Norwegian company competed against 86 finalists from leading manufacturing organisations worldwide, ultimately winning ahead of major multinational corporations including Unilever, Proctor & Gamble, Saipem, and BSH Home Appliances.

The Gartner Eye on Innovation Awards recognise manufacturing companies for their innovative use of technology to drive best-in-class initiatives. This year’s winners were selected by a panel
of non-Gartner judges composed of senior manufacturing executives from leading international companies including Coca Cola, KONE, and SERES Group.

Transforming krill harvesting through Innovation

Krillviz is a proprietary system that integrates drone technology, artificial intelligence, and real-time data analytics to revolutionise sustainable krill harvesting in Antarctic waters. The technology addresses a critical challenge: how to locate and harvest krill efficiently in one of the world’s most remote and challenging operating environments.

The Krillviz system connects trawler echograms (sonar data) to Google Cloud in real-time, creating a web interface that fuses sonar, vessel location, and weather data. A TensorFlow-powered AI model predicts krill biomass hotspots 6 to 12 hours in advance, while Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) drones confirm signals before vessel redeployment. Edge gateways cache data during communication blackouts in the Antarctic, syncing upon reconnection. The entire solution was delivered in just 16 weeks using both open-source and commercial technologies.

Promising results from test phases

The innovation has through testing and developing phases, estimated proven strong potential results when set:

• 22% increase in daily catch
• Projected $48 million in incremental EBITDA per year
• 8% reduction in fuel consumption per tonne
• 3,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions cut annually
• Data latency reduced from 24 hours to under 5 minutes
• Decision cycle time reduced by 70%

“This award clearly demonstrates the innovative spirit that runs through our company. We’re not just harvesting krill – we’re pioneering technology solutions that set new standards for sustainable marine operations. This recognition from Gartner validates our approach and vision, and I want to thank the entire team that has been involved in this.” states Webjørn Barstad, CEO of Aker QRILL Company.

About the competition

The 2025 Gartner Eye on Innovation Awards for Advanced Manufacturing received 86 submissions from advanced manufacturing organisations globally. Submissions were assessed by Gartner, with finalists selected by a team of Gartner industry experts. Regional winners across Americas, APAC, and EMEA were chosen by the panel of senior manufacturing executives from world-leading companies.

Companies do not need to be Gartner members to participate.

See the case study for KrillViz: https://play.vidyard.com/iNRvQpyonVUepaiYyprqXs?disable_popouts=1&preload=none  amp;pomo=1&v=4.3.19&type=inline

Read about Gartner Innovation Awards: https://www.gartner.com/en/about/awards/eye-on-innovation/advanced-manufacturing

About Aker QRILL Company

Aker QRILL Company is the world’s leading krill company, delivering premium ingredients for aquaculture and animal nutrition, and raw materials for human health applications. Our operations and development are backed by rigorous science and research into the benefits of krill. Sustainability is at the core of our operations, rooted in world-class standards