Contact person
The sustainable harbour paves the way for greener shipping
Proactivity from all parties is a must if 'The Sustainable Port' is to become a reality. This is the view of Mikael Lind, Senior Strategic Research Advisor at RISE with a special focus on maritime transport and logistics. He calls for increased cooperation and more innovative initiatives if the port is to maintain and strengthen its position as a transport hub.
Sweden's role as an exporting nation is entirely dependent on shipping. More than 95 per cent of Sweden's goods trade passes through its ports – and there are strong indications that much of the country's current road traffic will be shifted to rail and sea. This calls for greater sustainability in shipping, the rail system and the port.
Strengthening the innovation capacity of small and medium-sized ports
Since 2020, RISE has been running the "I.Hamn" project, which aims to strengthen the innovation capacity of small and medium-sized Swedish ports by facilitating cooperation and development in the areas of digitalisation, electrification and automation. Based on this work, RISE has formulated the concept of "The Sustainable Port".
"A sustainable port needs to address three different types of nodes: one with its natural focus on being a transport node, another for the potential role of being an energy node and a third to also be an information/digital node. "All these dimensions are important if we are to achieve greener shipping," says Sandra Haraldson, senior researcher at RISE, concept developer for The Sustainable Port and project manager for I.hamn.
"Put simply, all hub concepts are about seeing the port as a hub in a larger network. Transport rarely stops at the port; goods are collected by lorry, train or ship. A key challenge for the port as a transport hub is to get all the transport modes involved to work together.
Avoiding unnecessary delays through optimal preparation
Even if a ship announces its arrival well, problems can arise if the port is not optimally prepared for both internal handling and onward transport. This causes unnecessary delays throughout the transport chain.
Mikael Lind says that the port has become an important business cluster, with more and more parties involved.
"Almost SEK 20 billion is invested in the Swedish port system today. In order for this investment to be profitable, more knowledge is needed about how the port can serve each mode of transport as efficiently as possible, while at the same time ensuring that port operations are as sustainable as possible.
Closer cooperation between energy companies and ports is an example of where digitalisation is needed to coordinate the distribution and storage of energy, but also to plan and enable energy-efficient operations.
There is already an increased demand for electricity supply and charging facilities. Both from ships and trucks.
"Most ports cannot meet these demands. The infrastructure needs to be developed so that there is enough power for both transport and the inhabitants of the city," says Mikael Lind.
The sustainable port addresses the UN Sustainable Development Goals by using them as a benchmark for operations
Connected freight – an exciting solution
Connected freight is a new type of solution that Mikael Lind strongly believes in. With the help of connected sensors, shipping companies can track their goods as they travel and know where they are, but they can also check other important parameters, such as the temperature the goods are exposed to, whether someone has opened the container in which the goods are located, and so on.
"This is revolutionary technology. In particular, the connected container means that we can get information about the geographical location of the container and how it is handled as it passes through different transport hubs and is handled by different modes of transport.
Another example is when several ships arrive at the same time and some have to wait until they can dock. This results in unnecessarily high emissions as these waiting ships could have travelled slower to get to the port. Many are working to ensure that ships arrive at the port on a just-in-time basis, for example by focusing on green shipping corridors and synchronising on a virtual rather than a physical basis.
"The sustainable port addresses the UN Sustainable Development Goals by using them as a benchmark for operations. By focusing on both the port's internal operations, how the port can best serve its visitors, and the port's role in its local and regional context, the port becomes an integral part of the sustainable transport ecosystem, says Sandra Haraldson.
Rallying for the sustainable port
During the first half of 2023, RISE will lead the preparation of a rally for the sustainable port in a preparatory project supported by Vinnova. The aim is to create further conditions for continued work to increase innovation capacity in Swedish ports. The project builds on previous projects funded by Lighthouse, Sweden's collaborative platform for maritime research and innovation.
"Among other things, we are working on a cross-sectoral system demonstrator. The purpose of this is to find the answer to the 'how' question for the Swedish ports' journey, which is expressed in the sustainable port roadmap that we are currently developing together with the Swedish ports," says Sandra Haraldson.