PIONEERS project at ALICE Innovation Village

The H2020 project PIONEERS is an international partnership between ports, knowledge institutions, technology developers and government agencies with the shared ambition to make green ports the norm for our sustainable future.

Coordinated by the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, with a consortium of 47 partners from 11 different countries, PIONEERS is developing a Green Port Master Plan by 2026 as a harmonised approach for greening all European ports and is developing concrete solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions at ports. Specifically, PIONEERS showcases a real-life Green Port through the implementation of 19 demo projects in the four ports (Antwerp-Bruges, Barcelona, Constanta, Venlo), addressing challenges in the fields of: Clean Energy Production and Supply; Sustainable Port Design; Modal Shift and Flows Optimisation; and Digital Transformation.

Concrete actions encompass the generation of renewable energy and deployment of electric, hydrogen, and vehicles; retrofitting heating networks and infrastructure for enhanced energy efficiency and the incorporation of circular economy principles; along with the deployment of digital platforms utilising AI and 5G technologies to encourage modal shifts for both passengers and freight.

In a ground-breaking stride, Antwerp Terminal Services (ATS) and PSA Antwerp NV (PSAA) have jointly developed a cutting-edge technology: a pioneering hydrogen dual fuel straddle carrier, the first of its kind in the world. Read more here.Other demonstrations in the project are featured in the Euronews OCEAN series, portraying how ports act as drivers of the energy transition, decarbonisation, and environmental sustainability.

For a comprehensive overview of these demonstrations, PIONEERS has developed an interactive map, showcasing the applicability and feasibility of innovative green solutions for ports, serving as a guiding beacon for EU ports looking to adopt sustainable practices.

During the Transport Research Arena Conference, at the ALICE booth, you will have the chance to learn more about the PIONEERS demos in order to understand better the solutions under implementation in many different areas such as port and terminal operations, intramodality, energy transition and improvement of cargo & passenger flows through digitalisation.