PIONEERS addresses the challenges faced by European ports to reduce their environmental impact while remaining competitive and offering added value in a sustainable global trade ecosystem.
These challenges are aligned with the European Green Deal’s main objective to make Europe climate neutral by 2050.
The Port of Antwerp-Bruges operates the biggest port area in the world and is pioneering in the efforts towards a climate neutral port. For this reason, PIONEERS will build on the commitment of the Port of Antwerp-Bruges to scale-up the current state-of-the-art and to demonstrate applicability and feasibility through several demonstrations, acting as a lighthouse for EU ports. The Port of Barcelona, Constanta and Venlo, on the other hand, represent the ideal mix of size, location, operation models and area of influence to test these demonstrations, during the project lifecycle.
In order to accomplish the PIONEERS’s strategic goal and vision, a set of five objectives have been defined:
- Reduce the port's total environmental footprint by introducing Clean Energy production, storage and supply.
- Deploy sustainable port infrastructure beyond energy supply and demand.
- Introduce eco-friendly improvements relying on digitalisation and new methods of operaiton.
- Co-define and transfer PIONEERS' demonstrations to fellow ports during the project lifecycle.
- Deliver and disseminate a Port Master Plan for the transition towards GHG-neutral shipping and wider multimodal mobility by 2050.
More information about the project can be found at the project website.