With Port of Antwerp-Bruges, we are taking part in a number of projects funded by the government and by the European Union. Thanks to the support of research and innovation programmes such as Horizon 2020, Interreg and CEF, we are promoting cooperation between different partners and stakeholders within the logistics chain in order to solve a common global problem. Examples of these include the challenges relating to our climate or the need to ensure more efficient logistical processes by means of digitalisation. Port of Antwerp-Bruges is also leading some of these projects, such as PIONEERS or ePIcenter.

Antwerp@C

Antwerp@C is a project dedicated to innovative CO₂ reduction. Together with seven leading chemical and energy companies, we are working on the transition to a circular and climate neutral port. The consortium consists of Air Liquide, BASF, Borealis, ExxonMobil, INEOS, Fluxys, Port of Antwerp-Bruges and Total.

 

Two subsidies for detailed studies – concerning an amount of circa € 9 million have been granted under the European funding program for Trans-European Energy Networks, CEF. The funding will be used to carry out studies for a liquid CO₂ Export Terminal, a CO2 backbone within the Antwerp area and a CO₂ cross border pipeline to connect to the Netherlands.

 

With this financial support, Antwerp@C reaches a new milestone and can engage one step further. The consortium is strengthened in its ambition to reduce the CO₂ emissions within the port (18.65 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2017) potentially by half between now and 2030.

Antwerp houses the largest hub for chemical industry in Europe. Zeebrugge is one of the main logistics supply points for LNG supply in northwest Europe.

BURDI

BURDI stands for Belgium - Netherlands U-Space Reference Design Implementation and investigates the practical implementation of the recent EU drone legislation. The consortiumconsists of 18 partners and is coordinated by Skeyes.

 

The port of Antwerp wil be used as one of the sites for drone operators to test specific cases in practice. The project has received a grant from the European Commission of € 4.7 million and will run until June 2025.

An autonomous drone flies above the port of Antwerp.

Extra Containercapaciteit Antwerpen (ECA)

The European funding programme CEF has awarded funding of €10.91 million to the complex project Extra Containercapaciteit Antwerpen (ECA). This European support will be used to carry out detailed studies to identify the most sustainable solution, in order to create a supported project that reconciles the needs of the economy, the environment and our climate.

 

The co-financing will be used to finance the planned studies that form part of the elaboration phase of the project. Those studies are essential in order to ensure that the project is implemented in a way that most effectively serves the needs of the economy, while also enhancing quality of life.

 

Besides expansion, the project will also focus on optimising the use of land within the existing port area. The technical study into the design of the second tidal dock envisages a solution that will ensure maximum efficiency, while minimising the impact on the environment.

ePIcenter

The ePIcenter project brings together 36 European and international partners (port authorities, providers of logistics services, manufacturers, academic and technological partners, etc.) who are working together to develop and test AI-driven logistical software solutions, new transport technologies and supporting methods to improve supply chain efficiency worldwide and to limit the negative effects on the environment.

 

Port of Antwerp-Bruges is coordinating the project and is working closely with the other project partners to enable transparent, efficient and green supply chains by optimising and digitising logistical processes.

 

We implement real-life use cases to improve the accessibility of our port within the global and European transport networks and to reduce the impact on the environment and on our surroundings.

 

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under funding agreement no. 861584.

Fastwater

Fastwater aims to reduce its pollutant emissions to zero impact, through the use of methanol fuel. The consortium includes shipyards, a ship owner, engine manufacturers, an equipment supplier, a classification society, a methanol producer, a major port and research institutes.

 

Universal, scalable retrofit kits, medium speed and high speed methanol engines will be developed, demonstrated and commercialized. The demos include a harbour tug, a pilot boat and a coast guard vessel. The demos will show the complete chain from renewable methanol production to ship bunkering, work with regulatory agencies to simplify rules and regulations for methanol as a fuel, and develop and use a training programme for crew.

 

Port of Antwerp-Bruges will be involved in the demonstrator where a tug boat will be retrofitted to run completely on methanol, focusing on its energy and fuel consumption and its air emissions.

IMMERSE

The IMMERSE project is a collaboration of eleven European partners that is supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and operates within the framework of the INTERREG VB North Sea Region programme 2014-2020.

 

 The estuaries around the North Sea are facing challenges such as an increasing risk of floods, dealing with and reusing contaminated sediment and changing river dynamics. IMMERSE aims to accelerate the implementation of measures that address these issues. At the same time, IMMERSE aims to increase cost efficiency and stakeholder engagement.

 

For example, Port of Antwerp-Bruges is conducting a modelling study that is examining the possibility of reducing the tidal range in (part of) the estuary by means of the targeted dumping of sand. The aim is to chart the hydrodynamic, morphological and ecological effects.

NOVIMOVE

Inland waterborne transport is a major key-holder for unlocking the congestion in seaports, terminals, road networks and access to urban areas, besides being a main factor in reducing CO2 emissions in transport. These advantages are not fully exploited due to inefficiencies in the seaport-inland logistics chain. Thus the core NOVIMOVE challenge is: where, how and with whom to intervene in the logistics system to obtain the largest possible impact at the lowest possible cost?

 

We invest the following innovative concepts with regards to inland waterborne transport:

 

  • Improved load factor of containers by means of cargo reconstruction.
  • Improved port logistics by reducing waiting times at terminals and sailing time between terminals.
  • Improved river navigation by satellite, sensor and data fusion.
  • Innovative vessel solutions to cope with variable water levels.
  • Reduced waiting time at bridges and locks by dynamic scheduling system.

PIONEERS

PIONEERS is an international consortium of 46 partners, led by Port of Antwerp-Bruges. This PIONEERS consortium brings together ports, terminal operators, carriers, freight forwarders, knowledge institutions, technology developers, innovators and government agencies. Together, we devise concrete solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at ports while safeguarding our competitive position. The project started in October 2021 and will run for five years.  

PIONEERS is an international consortium that invests in the greening of ports.

SCALE-UP

The SCALE-UP project develops strategies to accelerate the evolution towards smart, clean and inclusive mobility to a level required to meet the EU goals towards climate & mobility. Three city hubs cooperate to achieve this goal: Antwerp, Madrid (Spain) & Turku (Finland)..

 

The consortium is led by the city of Antwerp and consist of 23 partners, of which BAM, Port of Antwerp-Bruges, the Province of Antwerp & the Flemish government, BE-mobile, and partners from Spain and Finland are a few.

 

Port of Antwerp-Bruges is mainly involved in the creation of a data platform that consolidates the transport flows & network capacity based on smart data. A tool that will monitor infrastructure capacity with accurate data collection will also be developed in order to get a better insight in the capacity usage of the transport network (a ‘barometer’), as well as effective capacity planning tools (guiding tools for port personnel).

SEAMLESS

Seamless, a consortium of 26 partners, has received almost 15 million EUR in funding from the European Commission. The aim of the project is to adapt existing processes and procedures to accommodate autonomous vessels. Port of Antwerp-Bruges will research and analyse the current framework and use those results to create a first virtual environment where we can safely guide inland barges during their stay in our port.

 

The project will run for 4 years and will finish in December 2026.

SEAMLESS

Secure Parking Opportunities for Trucks (SPOT)

Port of Antwerp-Bruges invests € 7 million (VAT not incl.) in parking lot Ketenis and another € 0,5 million in an upgrade of truck parking Goordijk on the right bank. The project has received funding from the European fund ‘Connecting Europe Facility’ (CEF). .

 

Parking Ketenis will have 280 parking places and will offer truckers an extensive range of amenities: adequate and clean bathrooms, WiFi, vending machines with food and drinks, underground waste containers, etc. The parking lot will be well lit and fenced in so it will be closed off from the public road. An awning with solar panels will generate electricity and on and around the parking a lot of green space is foreseen.

 

The parking lot will also serve as an overflow when waiting times at one or more terminals were to become too long.

 

The European Commission has also granted funds for the building and refurbishment of secure truck parking lots in European countries such as the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Austria & Croatia.

 Truck parking area Goordijk

5G-Blueprint

5G-Blueprint designs and validates a technical architecture, business and governance model for uninterrupted crossborder Tele Operated transport based on 5G connectivity. This blueprint can be used in the future for a pan European roll out in the logistics sector and beyond.

 

This project focuses on concrete use cases studying connected and tele operated transport. Tests will be carried out with different types of vehicles (barges, trains & trucks) across cross-border corridors (‘5G corridors’), in this case in the border region between Flanders & the Netherlands.

 

Port of Antwerp-Bruges facilitates the use cases by putting our infrastructure at the disposal of the consortium. This project fits in our overall strategy to actively invest in research focusing on autonomous vessels and drones, but also in projects focusing on the optimalization of truck transport, automatization of transport in general and ANPR cameras.

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