Greening Ports & Multimodal Logistics

PIONEERS: Greening European Ports

MJC² is part of an international consortium which will receive a €25 million grant from the European Union's Horizon 2020 programme. The PIONEERS consortium is led by the Port of Antwerp and includes 46 partners representing leading ports, terminal- and transport operators, forwarders, knowledge institutes, technology developers, innovators and public authorities.

PIONEERS will implement and showcase innovative solutions that reduce GHG emissions in ports and hinterland logistics operations while ensuring they remain competitive and efficient.

Multimodal Logistics Planning

MJC² will apply its multimodal logistics planning software in PIONEERS, optimizing freight movements to make best use of new transport technology such as electric propulsion and autonomous systems.

This will promote modal shift and ensure efficient cost-effective use of vessels and vehicles, reducing GHG emissions and congestion around major ports.

PIONEERS & Carbon Neutrality

PIONEERS is a highly ambitious project, rethinking all aspects of port operations ranging from terminal operations, concession agreements, mobility, connectivity, fuels to models for cooperation and production, storage and use of energy.

A total of 19 innovative demonstrators in the fields of clean energy production and supply, sustainable port design, modal shift and flows optimization, and digital transformation will be implemented.

PIONEERS includes renewable energy generation and deployment of electric, hydrogen and methanol vehicles; building and heating networks retrofit for energy efficiency; implementation of circular economy approaches in infrastructure works; automation; and deployment of digital platforms to promote modal shift and ensure optimized vehicle, vessel and container movements.

In this way PIONEERS will support Port of Antwerp's commitment to becoming carbon neutral by 2050, and the transferability of the technology will allow rapid adoption by other ports in Europe and globally.