Page 32 - Port of Hamburg Magazine 1.2020

■ DIGITAL DECADE
32 | Port of Hamburg Magazine | March 2020
When smart and green go hand in hand
Electronic data transfers, improved ship tracking and automated crane systems have already transformed the Port of Hamburg into a highly efficient operation. In the next step, digitalization and intelligent technologies are intended to make the port ‘smart’.
“In global terms, Hamburg is definitely one of the front- runners,” says Michele Acciaro, an Associate Professor of Maritime Logistics and Director of the Hapag-Lloyd Center for Shipping and Global Logistics (CSGL) at Küh- ne Logistics University (KLU) in the HafenCity Hamburg. But that being said: “We need far more technologies in the port that employ artificial intelligence (AI), Cloud Computing, Smart Contracts, Big Data and the Internet of Things (IoT).” This could facilitate the automation of terminal processes and
Consequently, the challenge for the Port of Hamburg is to not only be ‘smart’ but also ‘green.’ With the Eu- ropean Union’s ‘Green Deal’, the general course set for the future is already clear: Europe is meant to be climate-neutral by 2050. Hamburg has the potential to lead the way. “The city has a manageable size, and is one of the richest cities in one of the world’s rich- est countries,” Acciaro explains. But making this a re- ality will require more thinking outside the box, more
maneuvers in the port. One ex- ample: bunkering fuel or water. Here, automation could help avoid human error, save time and boost efficiency.
But efficiency isn’t
everything when it comes to global com- petition. In the future, a given port’s ecologi- cal footprint will also be a key aspect,
But efficiency isn’t every-thing
when it comes to global com-
petition. In the future, a given
port’s ecological footprint will
also be a key aspect, as Accia-
ro predicts. And this is where
decentralized Distributed
Ledger technologies like block-
chain could come into play,
making it theoretically possible
to track an individual product,
the CO2 consumption involved
in each stage of its production, and its transport route. Such transparent supply chains would allow consumers to select more sustainable products, and would give sustainably operating ports a competitive edge in the process. But for today, this is still wishful thinking.
“An expansion of renewable energy use in port opera- tions could also benefit from digitalization,” says Accia- ro. One conceivable option in this regard: equipping the port with a virtual power plant to interlink decentralized power-generation sites. In turn, this would require an in- telligent power grid or ‘smart grid’, which combines en- ergy production, storage and consumption, using tech- nologies like sensors, Big Data and AI to do so, and which can intelligently compensate for output fluctua- tions stemming from renewable energies.
profit even more from its business and research
as Acciaro predicts.
systematic analysis, and more interdisciplinary colla- boration. If this makes the port CO2-neutral, the envi- ronment is cleaner, and Ham- burg’s residents feel more content about where they live, then smart and green go hand in hand.
As Acciaro stresses: “Many pioneering technologies are still in the experimental phase. Nevertheless, we need to start experimenting with them, using the port as our laboratory.” Other ports have shown how it’s done:
since 2011 the Port of Los Angeles has been working
toward the ambitious goal of operating certain sec-
tions virtually emission-free. And in 2019 Singapore
developed an autonomous tug system (IntelliTug pro-
ject) as part of a long-term partnership with the tech
provider Wärtsilä. Also worthy of mention: Antwerp’s
’Capital of Things’ initiative. Based on the ‘Internet of
Things’, the first smart port projects were launched in
2018, and brought together the port authorities, the
city, university, and a prominent research center. Ac-
cording to Acciaro, Antwerp’s approach represents a
recipe for success. “All the major ports have formed
strong partnerships. Hamburg surely stands to
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