The Danish parliament has given the green light for construction of Lynetteholm, a man-made peninsula covering 275 hectares. The area will house 35,000 residents, and go some way to providing the estimated 80,000 homes that will be needed in the city by 2040. It will also help to protect the city from extreme climatic phenomena, thanks notably to a park that will act as a buffer zone against storms. The project did attract some criticism.

In 2017, the Mayor of London unveiled plans for the “Thames Estuary Production Corridor”. The aim is to create a world-class hub along the estuary dedicated to culture and the creative industries. It is estimated that the corridor will generate some 50,000 jobs and will be worth some 7.3 billion pounds to the UK economy. The project will be based on multiple partnerships. A preliminary report was published in 2020.

What is the best way to reduce the carbon footprint of shipping over the long term? There are some technologies that have been around for a long time, yet have been overlooked. The oldest form of propulsion is sail power. Wind-assisted propulsion is developing, but a significant issue remains: passing under bridges, with some masts measuring up to 80 metres in height. The Japanese company Namura has created a ship with masts that can be retracted when sailing under bridges or when there is not enough wind. The other little-used low-carbon technology is nuclear power, particularly for MSR (molten salt reactors) engines. Using chloride salts and lower temperature fission, these next generation engines are very safe. In the event of a leak, the material solidifies instantly on contact with the air. The company Samsung Heavy is working to create ships with this technology. The shipping industry faces a choice between these two very different options, keeping in mind the general interest!

AIVP’s vice-president for Latin América, Carlos Mondaca, will join the Academic Advisory Board of the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), reinforcing the cooperation between both organizations. The board is responsible to advise and determine the topics to be covered in the different congresses and panels, as well as the speakers to be invited. AIVP and AAPA have a long-lasting relationship and an MoU for foster collaboration, visible for example in the recent participation of AIVP in the AAPA 2020 Energy & Environment Seminar.

The Ports 4.0 fund has been fostering innovation in Spanish port cities since it was launched. In the last meeting of the Compensation Fund Distribution Committee, it was decided that finally 9 projects in commercial stage will receive a total support 4 million euros in subsidies. These projects use innovative technology in fields such as artificial intelligence, sensors, drones, wave energy or passive cooling. Regarding the areas of development, 4 of the projects are aimed at logistics efficiency, 2 for environmental sustainability and energy; and the remaining three to digitization of processes and intelligent platforms, safety and security and, finally, innovative process with impact on the tourism sector. Considering the success of the program, a new call will be launched in September. In AIVP, we will learn more about the fund Ports 4.0 in the next webinar focusing on Human Capital development, that will take place on July 1st at 15:00.

Many port cities are showing a strong commitment to protect the local ecosystem, improving the water quality, and reducing emissions. For example, with the occasion of the World Ocean Day, the Port of London (UK) revealed plans for a floating litter collector for the lower Thames in Essex in cooperation with DP World London Gateway. The initiative will cost £150,000. It’s one of the first outputs of a strategy by the Thames Litter Forum, established by the PLA with partners from along the river Thames to reduce the tide of litter washed into the river. On the same day, the PAS of the Central-Northern Tyrrhenian Sea (Port of Rome – Italy), presented the results of the “Fishing For Litter Project”. That project collected 25,000 kg of waste in the sea in two years. At the same time, in Mallorca (Spain) the port authority presented the results of the challenge ‘30 days de Ciclogreen”, in which 30 employees used sustainable mobility alternatives, saving 561 kg CO2 from the atmosphere. The employees that participated will enter a raffle for different prizes.