The future was most definitely blue at the Smart City Expo in Barcelona last week. The Tomorrow Blue Economy event featured the latest trends in ports innovation, community building, and sustainability.  

The tone was resolute and the actions towards a decarbonized future quite tangible. Let’s remember that overall, the shipping industry generates 3% of global CO2 emissions (940 million tons of CO2), a number estimated to double by 2050. Key industry stakeholders are aligning and showcasing an unprecedented openness for collaboration to deal with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO’s) GHG emission regulatory action framework that targets net-zero by 2050. 

International port stakeholders gathered last week in Hamburg and signed a declaration on the decarbonization of global shipping.  13 representatives of various ports, international shipping companies, green fuel producers, shipbuilders, financial institutions, terminal operators, and logistics companies in the port industry released a joint declaration at the Hamburg Sustainability Conference (HSC).   

In the declaration, the signatories recognize the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the environmental impact of the global shipping industry and emphasize the importance of green shipping corridors. Signatories included CMA CGM Germany, Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA), MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, Hapag-Lloyd AG, Port of Los Angeles, Tanger Med Special Agency, Port of Antwerp-Bruges, Port of Barcelona, Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), Port of Yokohama, Mabanaft, and Höegh Autoliners. 

IAPH and a few ChainPORT members are leading the way by operating an impressive pivot from being a landlord to business developer. Ports of Antwerp-Bruges, Gothenburg, Los Angeles, and Busan addressed the hard, yet necessary, transition towards a culture of innovation, risk taking — even venture building — within their organization while pointing out new sources of revenue generation, such as energy production or circular waste management — as an incentive to think outside of the box. It was established that ports are in a unique position: they have the opportunity of being an engaged community leader that will ignite innovation in their local ecosystems, through the whole value chain.  

In the same spirit, we explored the role of green corridors in port-city collaboration with C40 and port-start-up collaboration. Port of Seattle clearly demonstrated its willingness to connect with its local community by establishing its own timetable for decarbonization and launching a state-of-the-art innovation center (MInC), which will house Washington state’s maritime cluster organization, Maritime Blue. It will become a hub for knowledge transfer, business incubation, workforce development, and research and development.  

AltaSea, at the Port of Los Angeles, hosting venture advisory and accelerator Braid Theory, has been a source of inspiration for many in the industry. The Beacon, an entity jointly formed by six major players: the City of Antwerp, the Port of Antwerp, Lantis, University of Antwerp, Agoria, and Imec, is a driving force in the local start-up ecosystem. From their collective vision is born a platform that stimulates innovation among these organizations, enhances connections with technology companies, and establishes a physical presence in Antwerp. Though fairly recent, Port of Quebec’s Lighthouse project is a dynamic beacon of hope for Quebec’s Ocean innovators.  

Port of Barcelona, in collaboration with the city and several local stakeholders have also unveiled their ambitious Blue Tech Port project, a 25,000 square feet waterfront modern lighthouse-like infrastructure fully dedicated to growing the blue economy, where ecosystem collaboration is the name of the game. Innovators from all around the world are invited to join the hub. The city and its partners are betting on the blue economy as a powerful economic driver for building a smart, resilient future.  

“Ocean Ecostructures becomes the first company to set up shop in the northern hall of BlueTechPort at the Port of Barcelona, a space designed to accelerate projects that merge technology and marine sustainability.  Through Life Boosting Units (LBU), biomimetic micro-reefs that encourage the creation of resilient ecosystems in a short time, they are transforming industrial environments into true life and sustainability points for our oceans,” said Emma Cobos, Director of Innovation & Business Strategy from the Port of Barcelona.

A United Front for Maritime Decarbonization  

Smart City Barcelona was also hosting the World Ocean Council’s annual gatherings, which featured valuable insights on green maritime and decarbonization of the supply chain. 

 The Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping is focused on industry collaboration, bringing together 24 partners to accelerate the transition towards net-zero. Head of Strategy and Sustainability, Anne Katrine Bjerregaard, reminds us that in order to scale the right alternative energy sources, we need a strong demand pull, sufficient investment in fuel supply infrastructures, and a solid policy framework.  

Beyond policies, Lloyds Register Maritime Decarbonization Hub’s Director of Sustainable Fuels & Strategy, Carlo Raucci, thinks that efficient, cost saving technologies will be the key drivers of change, like in the automotive industry.  He sums it up: technology is ready, but not at scale yet. He reminds us that alternative fuels such as methanol or e-fuels are only one piece of the puzzle and points to the Oceanbird project, a futuristic wind-assisted vessel that gives wings to your imagination. While attempting to achieve scale, there are countless opportunities to optimize the whole supply chain with AI and hard tech, to generate quick wins in ESG reduction. He also reminds us that failure will inevitably be part of the innovation journey, stressing that R&D and implementation should be managed separately, from an organizational standpoint. 

Dr. Phanthian Zuesongdham from the Port of Hamburg sees a more interconnected future for its industry with the Port Innovation Network (PIN) , a global network of port innovation hubs and their communities. Jointly ignited by Ports of Hamburg, Halifax, and Valencia, PIN was established to promote the adoption of innovation in the global port ecosystem. Moving away from the classic competitive mindset, she reminds us that through IAPH, one hundred ports agreed to work together.  

Given the interconnectedness nature of the industry, the transition can only happen on a global scale while being mindful of the local ecosystems’ needs, resources, and capabilities. It won’t be a one size fits all approach, but, “As a collective force, we have a chance to win,” she concludes, because ultimately, the industry quickly needs solutions at scale, joint purchasing data, and data collaboration.   

To wrap things up, keynotes Gabrielle Walker from CUR8 and Ocean 14’s co-founder Chris Gorell Barnes concluded the World Ocean Council’s Global Blue Finance Summit (BlueFIN) with compelling investment numbers in the blue economy. Walker featured British Airway’s latest investment in carbon removal, which includes marine CDRs in the portfolio. Meanwhile, in 2023, Ocean14 raised a first $200M fund fully dedicated to the blue economy, focusing mainly on sustainable fishing and plastic recycling technologies.   

Acting as a catalyst for the blue transition, Ocean 14 Capital has analyzed the blue economy for a long time – and they understand where the true opportunities lie. A sophisticated investment strategy focuses on transforming the large industrial base at its core, optimizing natural capital and growth strategies in order to maximize returns. It is, one hopes, only the beginning of a promising growth journey for a sector that is betting on the sustainable use of our beloved oceans, which is by far our most important carbon sink.