How should ports navigate in a world full of turbulence? How can they incorporate disruptive technologies that make supply chains more reliable and efficient? How can we open up our citizens by promoting economy? These are all important questions for the Port of Barcelona and for major ports around the world. Ports undergoing transformation need to address these issues “in a coordinated manner, sharing experiences, trends and best practices.”
This is exactly the spirit of smart ports: the pier of the future. This is an initiative of the Port of Barcelona that brings together the world’s most influential ports in the field of innovation for the sixth consecutive year: Antwerp, Bruges and Busan. Gothenburg, Hamburg, Los Angeles and Rotterdam will be joined by special guests from Shanghai, Ningbo, Seattle and Quebec. This year too, it will be celebrated within the Smart Cities Expo World Congress (SCEWC), of which the Port of Barcelona is a strategic partner, and will be held in Barcelona from November 5th to 7th. Representatives from the Port of Long Beach will also be in attendance.
Establishing itself as ‘one of the most important conferences in the sector’, the event has the motto ‘Creating ports that inspire’, with a clear focus on ports and port cities of the future6. This is the third time. Relationships, Blue Economy, Innovation and Sustainability. One of the big news this year was the collaboration between C40 Cities, a global network of cities to fight climate change, and attendees of the C40 Green Ports Forum, an event running from 6 November to 6 November. This is cooperation to explore synergistic effects. It will also be held in Barcelona in August, with the aim of “facilitating the exchange of knowledge and sustainable solutions between participating ports”.
Along the same lines and in parallel with the Smart Ports celebration, the Port of Barcelona will host the Port Administrators Roundtable (PAR2024), a forum for managers of the world’s most important ports. collaboration.
In addition, representatives from various ports, who are part of groups at the forefront of port innovation and sustainability, such as ChainPORT and the Green Ports Forum, will participate in the following topics held within the framework of Smart Ports: Participate in discussions and meetings. The introduction of drones in the port sector, changes in the business model of port authorities or the integration of start-ups.
Promoting the “ocean economy”
The blue economy is an area that is “in full growth and in which Barcelona is making a determined effort in conjunction with the celebrations of the Copa America voyage” and will feature prominently in this year’s Smart Ports: Piers of the Future It will show your feelings. In fact, on November 5th, the Innovation Day by the Port of Barcelona will be held, in collaboration with the Port of Barcelona’s BlueTechPort, giving voice to the main international innovation hubs in the field of blue economy. These include TheBeacon in Antwerp and the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator in Los Angeles. Innovative start-ups in the logistics and shipping sectors will also participate.
Moreover, during the week Barcelona will become the epicenter of the blue economy thanks to a series of parallel events under the umbrella of Barcelona Blue Economy Week. Green Marine Med, Blue Glue Workshop, Sustainable Ocean Summit and BlueFin are some examples, the latter two being combined with SCEWC’s vertical division Smart Ports: Piers of the Future in the Tomorrow.Blue Economy.
This series of activities, organized by the Port of Barcelona as well as “stakeholders such as the Barcelona City Council and the World Ocean Council (WOC),” will make the Catalan capital “an important platform for cities, ports and cities” in the world. Establishing itself as a leading shipping company and strengthening its leadership in the fields of sustainability and maritime innovation.
