diff --git a/components/ide/jetbrains/backend-plugin/gradle.properties b/components/ide/jetbrains/backend-plugin/gradle.properties
index 42f3ce9adef124..292837c5a96ccb 100644
--- a/components/ide/jetbrains/backend-plugin/gradle.properties
+++ b/components/ide/jetbrains/backend-plugin/gradle.properties
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ platformType=IU
 platformDownloadSources=true
 # Plugin Dependencies -> https://plugins.jetbrains.com/docs/intellij/plugin-dependencies.html
 # Example: platformPlugins = com.intellij.java, com.jetbrains.php:203.4449.22
-platformPlugins=Git4Idea, org.jetbrains.plugins.terminal, com.jetbrains.codeWithMe
+platformPlugins=Git4Idea, org.jetbrains.plugins.terminal, com.jetbrains.codeWithMe, org.jetbrains.idea.maven
 # Opt-out flag for bundling Kotlin standard library.
 # See https://plugins.jetbrains.com/docs/intellij/kotlin.html#kotlin-standard-library for details.
 kotlin.stdlib.default.dependency=false
diff --git a/components/ide/jetbrains/backend-plugin/src/main/kotlin/io/gitpod/jetbrains/remote/maven/GitpodMavenProjectManager.kt b/components/ide/jetbrains/backend-plugin/src/main/kotlin/io/gitpod/jetbrains/remote/maven/GitpodMavenProjectManager.kt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..f1185f6bafc921
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/ide/jetbrains/backend-plugin/src/main/kotlin/io/gitpod/jetbrains/remote/maven/GitpodMavenProjectManager.kt
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2022 Gitpod GmbH. All rights reserved.
+// Licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License (AGPL).
+// See License-AGPL.txt in the project root for license information.
+
+package io.gitpod.jetbrains.remote.maven
+
+import com.intellij.openapi.project.Project
+import org.jetbrains.idea.maven.project.MavenProjectsManager
+
+class GitpodMavenProjectManager(
+        private val project: Project
+) {
+
+    init {
+        // force initialize maven project
+        MavenProjectsManager.getInstance(project)
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/components/ide/jetbrains/backend-plugin/src/main/resources/META-INF/maven.xml b/components/ide/jetbrains/backend-plugin/src/main/resources/META-INF/maven.xml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000000..5479f7963d59e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/ide/jetbrains/backend-plugin/src/main/resources/META-INF/maven.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+<!--
+ Copyright (c) 2022 Gitpod GmbH. All rights reserved.
+ Licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License (AGPL).
+ See License-AGPL.txt in the project root for license information.
+-->
+<!--suppress PluginXmlValidity -->
+<idea-plugin>
+    <extensions defaultExtensionNs="com.intellij">
+        <projectService serviceImplementation="io.gitpod.jetbrains.remote.maven.GitpodMavenProjectManager" preload="true"/>
+    </extensions>
+</idea-plugin>
diff --git a/components/ide/jetbrains/backend-plugin/src/main/resources/META-INF/plugin.xml b/components/ide/jetbrains/backend-plugin/src/main/resources/META-INF/plugin.xml
index 5b8c3c87e86363..947e8ab918f5aa 100644
--- a/components/ide/jetbrains/backend-plugin/src/main/resources/META-INF/plugin.xml
+++ b/components/ide/jetbrains/backend-plugin/src/main/resources/META-INF/plugin.xml
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
     <!-- Product and plugin compatibility requirements -->
     <!-- https://plugins.jetbrains.com/docs/intellij/plugin-compatibility.html -->
     <depends>com.intellij.modules.platform</depends>
+    <depends optional="true" config-file="maven.xml">org.jetbrains.idea.maven</depends>
     <dependencies>
         <plugin id="Git4Idea"/>
         <plugin id="org.jetbrains.plugins.terminal"/>