Logistop organized the Innovation Lab on Identifying Technological Challenges and Application Cases in Port Logistics.

As part of the Port Logistics Working Group, Logistop has organized the first Innovation Lab – Identifying Technological Challenges and Application Cases in Port Logistics to kick off the year 2025. This online event brought together sector experts to explore new strategies and technologies that facilitate the transition to a more sustainable and innovative logistics model.

For this session, we had an introduction and moderation by Cristian Alcácer, Technical Director of Logistop, and José Andrés Giménez Maldonado, Director of Port Logistics at the Fundación Valenciaport and Vice President of R&D&I at Logistop. In terms of participation, we had Javier Moreno, Sustainability Director at Bergé, Carles Rúa, Head of Strategic Projects and Innovation at the Port Authority of Barcelona, and Jesús García, CEO of Copitrans.

Thanks to the vision and expertise of these experts, we gained a comprehensive view of the current situation in the sector and were able to identify the most common issues and challenges to tackle in the short and medium term.

In this regard, the discussion began around the question of the most urgent needs related to digitalization and decarbonization in port logistics. Jesús García provided attendees with an overview of the state of land transport in Spain. “Currently, it has about 70% of self-employed workers, so we find ourselves at a stage where it is difficult to innovate, although we must start applying issues related to Big Data and AI to gather data and models to improve our efficiency,” said the CEO of Copitrans. He then acknowledged that 90% are still not prepared to take this step under the right conditions.

Carles Rúa, on the other hand, emphasized that the maritime sector also shares this situation. “Although we, from the port authorities, are pushing, the main challenge now is to find a way to accelerate the changes,” he stated. He also reminded the audience that many pilots are functioning, but the problem arises when applying the qualitative leap because it must be valid for all players and have sufficient robustness so that the entire transport sector can use it. “That is the biggest challenge for everyone,” he added.

To complement this view, Javier Moreno pointed out that while standardization is very difficult, we must take small steps that allow us to lower expectations and consolidate things. Only then will we be able to achieve a unique, faster, and more agile system for all.

The next issue addressed in the discussion was decarbonization as the second major need, at which point the three speakers agreed that the new regulations and standards set by the EU are putting pressure with tight deadlines that are sometimes difficult to meet. For Javier Moreno, “We are at a time where the main issue lies in changing our energy dependence on Europe,” he explained. From his point of view, he suggested the possibility of moving from being an energy consumer to becoming an energy producer. “We will have no choice but to start collaborating, although many of us are already doing so, and think about projects that bring us closer to production,” he argued. Precisely, to provide solutions to this issue, Carles Rúa pointed out the need to “have a holistic and global vision to reduce with pilot programs and test, phase, etc. In other words, we need to develop an ad-hoc plan for each case with some coherence and work on it together,” he concluded.

Conclusions

The transition to a sustainable logistics model is a challenge that requires collaboration and long-term vision, making decisions in the short term. In the next focus session of the Port Logistics Working Group, we will compile the solutions and cases presented in the interactive workshop by the partners to study ideas and innovation projects. If you are not yet a Logistop member and would like to join our platform to participate in these sessions and workshops, please contact us via email at info@logistop.org.

For more information about the event, contact Eva Segovia, Communication and Marketing at Logistop, via email at eva.segovia@logistop.org.