TIM eMagazine Vol.3 Issue 10
35 million euros for transition projects
The transition to a circular low-carbon economy is another main ob-
jective of the Antwerp Port Authority. Over the next three years the Port
Authority will therefore invest no less than 35 million euros in innovative
sustainability projects. One good example of this is the declared ambition
of making onshore power supplies available for seagoing ships at berth
in the Deurganck dock in the near future, which will lower NO2 (nitro-
gen oxide) emissions by 36%. In addition we seek to promote alternative
sustainable fuels such as LNG and hydrogen. This year the CMB shipping
company won the Sustainability Award with the "Hydroville," the first hy-
drogen-powered passenger ferry. Given the very promising sustainability
potential of hydrogen we are currently studying the feasibility of setting
up a hydrogen fuel station in the port. Earlier this month a hydroturbine
was installed in the Kallo lock to generate electricity from water power. The
aim is to use this advanced technology to make all sea locks in the port
energy-neutral in the longer term.
A smart, innovative and secure port thanks to digital transformation
The port of the future will also be a smart port, with the emphasis on
innovation and digitisation. The Port Authority has therefore assumed a
pioneering role in digital transformation, aimed at becoming an open and
innovative hub for the introduction of new technologies. The ambition
is to install a digital nervous system covering the entire port with among
other things smart cameras, sensors and drones to give full monitoring,
which in turn will make it possible to respond directly to events in the port.
In addition, data is being made transparent and available to all players in
the supply chain thanks to NxtPort, the data platform for the port that was
set up nearly two years ago.
In the words of Jacques Vandermeiren: "With the growing importance of
MSC Home Terminal
Credit : portofantwerp.com
data and the gains in efficiency that we seek to derive from it, in future the
Port Authority will build further on the foundations that it has already laid
with NxtPort. The increased participation in NxtPort by the Port Author-
ity underlines this confidence. We strongly believe that digitisation will
smooth the way for smart, efficient and lower-cost logistics, and that it will
also play an increasingly important role in terms of mobility and monitor-
ing emissions."
A new alderman takes the helm
As the year 2018 comes to an end so also does the career of Marc Van
Peel. After 12 years as alderman for the port and chairman of Antwerp Port
Authority, this veteran politician will take leave of Port House for the last
time and begin his well deserved retirement. In his honour the new Wagen
room on the ground floor has been renamed in his honour: henceforth it
will be called "Event Hall in honour of Marc Van Peel, President of the Ant-
werp Port Authority from 2007 to 2018."
At the same time we will welcome Annick De Ridder as the new port
alderman at the beginning of the year. "I am confident that we can look
forward to constructive collaboration," Jacques Vandermeiren concluded.
https://www.portofantwerp.com/
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