Fortnightly maritime news for the industry and PortXL community.
Europe to regulate emissions trading for shipping
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in one of her first major speeches, promised at the UN climate conference (COP25) in Madrid to make Europe the first climate neutral continent by 2050 by introducing the so-called European Green Deal.
World First: An Offshore Pilot Plant for Green Hydrogen
The North Sea is the first place in the world where a pilot project to build an offshore hydrogen plant is planned. Neptune Energy’s Q13a oil and gas platform, located more than ten kilometres off the coast of The Hague, will house a plant that will produce green hydrogen from sustainable electricity that is generated by the sun and wind.
Vestas joins Oz project to advance turbine lifting
Vestas, along with Van Oord and Mammoet is part of a project consortium in Australia trialling a technology for improving turbine lifting operations. The Australian government has provided financial and strategic support for the project, led by Verton Australia, which has developed a remote-controlled load-management system designed to control and rotate a load to its target destination. Verton received official backing from the Australian government.
Forward Water takes the waste out of industrial wastewater
Howie Honeyman’s company, Forward Water Technologies, is dedicated to commercializing a proprietary forward osmosis technology. That is why Howie jumped at the opportunity to apply for Alberta Innovates funding through the Water Innovation Program (WIP).
DEME Crews Busy at New Lock Terneuzen Project
DEME Group has just released the latest video update on their work at the New Lock Terneuzen in the Netherlands. A large volume of sand was reclaimed for the construction of the 427 meter long, 55 meter wide and 16,44 meter deep lock. This timelapse shows DEME’s trailing suction hopper dredgers ‘Bonny River’ and ‘Lange Wapper’ in action and how the teams are making progress on this impressive project.
Hamburg port operator vows to be carbon neutral by 2040
German port and transport logistics company Hamburger Hafen und Logistik (HHLA) has jumped ahead of terminal rivals, vowing this week to become climate neutral by 2040. The port operator has revealed it has already smashed its environmental targets set for next year. Earlier targets had called for HHLA to reduce CO2 emissions per handled container by at least 30% by 2020, a target it managed to achieve in 2018. Emboldened by this, the Hamburg company has made new ambitious targets, unparalleled in the ports world.
Australia Maps Research Needed for Billion Dollar Hydrogen Industry
A report from Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, has mapped the critical research steps Australia must take to realize a hydrogen industry it says is potentially worth A$11 billion ($7.5 billion) a year by 2050. The report highlights a research opportunity to develop, test and demonstrate of various hydrogen storage systems and carrier ships for export and hydrogen storage and transport mechanisms to deliver hydrogen from production facilities to loading ports.
Damen and VSTEP Simulation Establish Simulation Research Laboratory
Damen Shipyards Group and VSTEP Simulation, a leading provider of training simulation technology, have joined forces to establish a laboratory to explore innovative new simulation solutions. The aim of the partnership is to develop software that will extend the capabilities of VSTEP’s existing NAUTIS Maritime Simulation platform into engineering applications and so open up new research and development possibilities for Damen’s numerous R&D programs.
Liner CO2 calculators branded useless
Shippers keen to track their carbon footprint are being misled by containerlines, significant new research from Copenhagen analysts Sea-Intelligence shows. Ten of the top 15 carriers provide an online CO2 calculator, but they have been branded “useless” in a new report from Sea-Intelligence. “None can be validated,” Sea-Intelligence stated, adding: “They are riddled with absurdly poor data quality, sailing distances from China to New York range from 878 KM to 1.5 times around the world. One CO2 calculator has not been updated in at least 2.5 years. Avoid them all!”
Maersk launches new visibility tool Captain Peter
With a look and feel like an everyday smartphone app, “Captain Peter” is aiming to take customer experience to a new level. The avatar will assist customers along the journey of their cargo, reducing some of the daily hassles and complexities of shipping.
Norden Grows Its Commitment to Biofuel
“At Norden, we want to drive the shipping industry towards a cleaner future. If we are to truly make a difference, testing fuel alternatives is the right starting point,” says Henrik Røjel, Fuel Efficiency and Decarbonisation Manager at Norden.
Digital challenge in maritime: Dive deep or sink
Digitalisation is at the top of the agenda of the boards in most, if not all, large multinationals. In our maritime sector, this topic is also more and more at the top of the agenda. So, you as board member or digital innovator in a maritime company, are settled. Your company now has the full attention for digitalisation and serious business impact is around the corner. Well, unfortunately NOT. Putting it at the top of the agenda is of course crucial. The big next question is though: what’s next? How does an organisation actually make impact with digital?
What Companies That Are Good at Innovation Get Right
Innovation labs, technology scouting outposts, and accelerator programs to invest in startups have become ubiquitous in large companies, as have regularly-scheduled hackathons or idea challenges that invite employees to develop and pitch new ideas. Yet, in some companies, all of that activity adds up to nothing more than “innovation theater.” In others, it actually yields a stream of internal improvements; new products and services; experiments with different business models; and investments in fledgling companies that are connecting with new customer segments. What’s different in these two groups?
