Back to Smart Ports, this year within the framework of the Tomorrow Blue Economy

During the 7th, 8th and 9th of November, the Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) was held together with Smart Ports: Piers of the Future 2023, at the Gran Via venue of Fira de Barcelona in Hospitalet de Llobregat, and SOM-INN PORT, once again this year, participated.

The twelfth edition of the Smart City Expo World Congress was the largest event to date, with a total of 25,300 attendees. It showcased smart solutions that shape a new era of cities, focusing on enabling technologies, energy and environment, mobility, governance and economy, life and inclusion, infrastructure and construction, safety and security, and blue economy.

Stand of the Generalitat de Catalunya

Stand of Korea

SCEWC 2023 featured the largest and most comprehensive program to date, with nearly 600 international experts participating in 273 sessions, bringing together people from both the private and public sectors from more than 800 cities around the world.

Stand of Spain

The event also featured a new conference layout, with decentralized stages and rooms throughout the 2-hall venue with more than 1,100 exhibitors, and live expert interviews, streamed via the parallel Digital Program on Tomorrow.City.

In addition, there are three co-located events reinforcing the focus on key urban challenges: Tomorrow.Building, Tomorrow.Mobility and Tomorrow.BlueEconomy.

Tomorrow Blue Economy

This year, the fifth edition of Smart Ports: Piers of the Future was held presentially as part of Tomorrow.BlueEconomy from November 7-9 at SCEWC.

Under the slogan “Sailing Towards Innovation”, the event brought together the ports of Antwerp, Barcelona, Busan, Hamburg, Gothenburg, Los Angeles, Montreal and Rotterdam (organizers of the congress), together with the invited ports, which were Vancouver and Singapore, to address issues related to port sustainability, innovation and technology.

During the conference, outstanding activities have been carried out such as:

The talk “On the Formation and Control of Safe Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) Ecosystem in Port” that presented the challenges that arise for port authorities when introducing drones into their airspace/U-Space, with the examples of the ports of Hamburg and Rotterdam and addressed emerging solutions for safe and efficient implementation.
The session “Challenges and Opportunities in Cargo Shipping and Ports: A Collaborative Discussion”, focused on the important challenges faced by cargo owners, shipping companies and port authorities within the current panorama, dealing with issues such as the current conflict in the Panama Canal, or energy and environmental challenges.

“Challenges and Opportunities in Cargo Shipping and Ports: A Collaborative Discussion” session

The session “Driving Sustainable and Intelligent Maritime Transport” has focused on the latest technological advances that contribute to a more responsible and intelligent maritime transport with the aim of exploring the transformative change towards sustainable transport solutions, addressing innovative technologies, alternative fuels and the role of digitalization in optimizing efficiency and reducing environmental impact.

“Driving Sustainable and Intelligent Maritime Transport”

“Port City Renaissance: Redefining Port City Landscapes through Innovative Development Models”, a session to explore the symbiotic relationship between port activities and urban growth, examining the catalytic effects of major events held in ports and port cities, such as the 37th America’s Cup held in the Port of Barcelona.

“Port City Renaissance: Redefining Port City Landscapes through Innovative Development Models”

The session “Innovation in the Blue Economy” delved into the impact of ICT infrastructures, such as 5G, AI and IoT, and the smart and sustainable transformation of ports. It has been explored how digitalisation is leading to smarter, more efficient, and sustainable ports, and the need to boost the blue economy and the benefits it entails has been confirmed.

“Innovation in the Blue Economy”

In the afternoon, the “Tech Tour Tomorrow.Blue Economy – Maritime Supply Chain/Smart Port Sector” was held, where several startups made their pitches explaining their Blue Economy projects. Some of these startups were: EVOY, NAVOZYME, SEALUTION and USYNCRO.

EVOY