Rhine-Alpine News
11.05.2021
„Horizon“: Two new successful projects with EGTC support
Two large projects for the greening of European ports have been approved by the European Union’s “Horizon 2020” program. The projects are led by the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam respectively and were supported by the EGTC Rhine-Alpine.
Antwerp’s “Pioneers“ consortium greens European ports
An international consortium of 46 partners led by the Port of Antwerp will receive a €25 million grant from the European Horizon 2020 programme. The PIONEERS consortium representing leading ports, terminal and transport operators, forwarders, knowledge institutes, technology developers, innovators and public entities will showcase concrete solutions reducing GHG emissions in ports while safeguarding their competitiveness. The project has a timeframe of 5 years starting at the end of 2021.
“PIONEERS” stands for “PORTable Innovation Open Network for Efficiency and Emissions Reduction Solutions.” The consortium convinced evaluators with 19 ambitious demonstrators in the field of clean energy production and supply, sustainable port design, modal shift and flows optimization, and digital transformation. Port of Antwerp will function as lighthouse port, hosting the majority of demonstrators and showcasing a real life Green Port. Read the whole news here (external link)
Rotterdam: EU awards nearly € 25 million in funding to “green port project”
An international alliance of 45 companies, knowledge institutes and port authorities, headed by the Port of Rotterdam Authority, has been awarded nearly € 25 million in EU funding. The consortium will be using this grant to execute 10 pilot projects and demonstration projects that focus on sustainable and smart logistics in port operations.
A number of renewable fuels and energy carriers are currently being developed further, including green hydrogen, large electric batteries, ammonia and bio-LNG. Each of these has its own advantages and challenges. The consortium’s broad, international research programme primarily focuses on those aspects in the use of new fuels and energy carriers that have not yet been tested in practice. Read the whole news here (external link).
Rotterdam successful in processing Suez Armada
Arrival of the MSC Rifaya, the stowed container ship that was the first to arrive in Rotterdam ©PoR
After the stranded “Ever Given” was afloat again, the Suez Canal opened for traffic on 28 March. Immediately, an Armada of container ships moved to Europe simultaneously, 64 of them to Rotterdam. Their handling became critical not only for the port of Rotterdam, but also for the logistics chains across Europe.
“The Suez Armada is as good as processed. We are proud of how well Rotterdam addressed this, but things remain very busy and challenging at the terminals.” With this notification, Rotterdam Port’s “Suez consultation” between various sector organisations was disbanded last week. This consultative panel was established to support the terminals. Read the whole news here (external link).