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Rainmaking partners maritime giants with tech startups to energise innovation

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Rainmaking partners maritime giants with tech startups to energise innovation. Image: Pixabay
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Corporate innovation and venture development firm, Rainmaking has matched five maritime giants with eight startups as part of its Trade & Transport Impact Programme. Cargotec, HHLA, Inmarsat, Shell, and Wärtsilä have been paired up with startup teams from eight different countries. They will work on 13 separate projects with the aim of accelerating innovation that delivers genuine business results.

With an industry awakening to the challenges of adjusting to an increasingly digital and decarbonised world, there is growing recognition that business as usual is not an option. Designed to tackle some of the biggest challenges in maritime trade and transport, the Trade & Transport Impact Programme aims to disrupt the industry through its collaborative, outcome-oriented approach.

The specialisms of the startups in the current round of the programme range from port- and cyber security to energy-optimisation and crew welfare. Current projects relate to safety, security and crew welfare, optimisation of port and vessel operations, and autonomous operations and equipment.

Nicklas Viby Fursund, Partner, Rainmaking commented: “There is growing recognition that the maritime industry needs to innovate, and fast. As appetite for fresh thinking, insight, and technology swells, bringing together established maritime leaders with technology startups is what’s needed to deliver genuine business results quickly.”

He continued: “With our current partners; Cargotec, HHLA, Inmarsat, Shell, and Wärtsilä, we’re already seeing tangible benefits emerging from the programme. It’s exciting to see the genuine impact quality tech startups with high engagement and energy levels can make, helping to solve the problems the corporates are facing and adding value to operations.”

Facilitating positive partnerships between corporates and startups is supporting both sides in achieving progress far more quickly. By setting clear deadlines, the Trade and Transport Impact Programme encourages both partners to work towards delivering tangible results which provide solutions to particular challenges.

Clara Wahnich, Digital Innovation Partnerships Lead, Inmarsat: “The Trade and Transport Impact Programme made a big difference to us because it pushed people to act. Both Inmarsat and CyberOwl felt compelled to ensure that something happened within the initial six weeks and this allowed us to validate the opportunity. We have now built a great foundation for our engagement and joint exploration going forward.”

Michael Andronicou, Project Lead – New Marine Ventures, Shell: “We have had great success working with Scoutbase, whose technology collects data to reduce human error. Our business has been hugely engaged – everyone is really keen and loves the energy that Scoutbase has brought to the table, as well as the product itself. Going forward in 2020 we are really excited to hopefully start rolling this product out.”

Tero Hottinen, Director for Emerging Digital Business, Cargotec: “The Trade and Transport Impact Programme provides an excellent framework to explore collaborations with startups – not only for scouting and finding the good ones, but also to encourage impetus and progress within a certain timeframe. We are working with two different companies that have truly complementary offerings to ours. We probably wouldn’t have trialled both at the same time in a synergetic manner without Rainmaking, so it really has been beneficial from that perspective.”

Till Schlumberger, Strategy Consultant in Digital Transformation, HHLA: “We’re working with KoiReader to make improvements in the detection of container damage. While it’s currently a proof of concept, we hope to continue with the project and without Rainmaking’s Trade and Transport Impact Programme, we probably would never have met KoiReader.”

Steffen Knodt, Director New Ventures, Wärtsilä: “Energy efficiency is one of the most important factors in shipping today, and we are trying to find new ways of improving it. Signol has enabled us to reach the decision makers onboard and better support them with fuel consumption, energy efficiency and operations. We need to bring in startups and knowledge from outside the industry to support us in finding ways to do things better. And Rainmaking is helping us to do just that.”

The third cycle of the programme begins in Q1 2020, at which point more organisations will be able to join. Rainmaking is also launching a decarbonisation programme in Singapore at that time, which specifically focuses on startups with solutions that support the transition to a zero carbon future for shipping.

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Maritime

The Port of Valencia begins electrification of its docks

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The Port of Valencia begins electrification of its docks. Image: Port Authority of Valencia
The Port of Valencia begins electrification of its docks. Image: Port Authority of Valencia
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A new step in the decarbonisation of the Port of Valencia and its firm commitment to be an emission neutral site by 2030. The Port Authority of Valencia (APV) has put out to tender the drafting and execution of the works for the electrical connection to ships for the Transversal Costa-MSC quay. This is the first electrification or Onshore Power Supply (OPS) project to be carried out by Valenciaport in the Valencian precinct.

The APV is thus initiating the procedure for the award of the contract for the drafting and execution of the project for the installation of electrical connections for ships and the maintenance of the same at the Transversal de Costa quay. To this end, Valenciaport has jointly launched the drafting of the construction project, the execution of its works and the maintenance of the installations in the same procedure for an amount of 12,468,626.8 euros (VAT included).

Onshore Power Supply (OPS) electrification infrastructures have been consolidated as a very useful tool for the decarbonisation of ports, as this system avoids the use of auxiliary engines of ships when they are docked in the enclosures. This reduces greenhouse gas emissions – due to the use of electricity that eliminates the consumption of fossil fuels used in these auxiliary engines – and stops the emission of particles and polluting gases.

This OPS initiative in the Port of Valencia will be carried out in parallel with the works on the new electrical substation – a second substation is also planned – which was put out to tender last month with a base budget of around 11 million euros and a completion period of 24 months. This infrastructure will be responsible for supplying green energy to the first OPS electrification project of the Transversal de Costa-MSC quay.

In this regard, Joan Calabuig, president of Valenciaport, stressed that “these are just two examples of real projects in the execution phase that confirm the firm commitment that Valenciaport is making to achieve the goal of being a zero-emissions port by 2030, twenty years ahead of the European Green Pact. It is a commitment to sustainability and to the society of our environment that is supported by initiatives such as the electrification of the docks, the use of hydrogen in port operations, the installation of photovoltaic plants or the commitment to intermodality with the railway. We are committed to sustainable growth that reinforces our position as a port of reference in the Mediterranean”.

Project included in the Next Generation Funds

The joint contracting of the preparation of the project and the execution of the corresponding works in the same procedure is carried out in response to the fact that there are no references in Europe compatible with the ISO/IEC/IEEE 80005 standard and in Spain there is currently no previous experience of OPS projects in operation with the characteristics of the pilot project defined by the Port Authority of Valencia. The combination of the individual components required for this type of installation (transformers, protection cells, disconnectors, frequency converters, etc.) with infrastructures for supplying electricity to ships requires specific projects, with technically complex solutions that have to be designed specifically for each location. In addition, and given that the execution of the construction project is subsidised by the European Union’s Next Generation funds and the Spanish Government’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, the joint tender is the only way to meet the established deadlines, since if two separate contracts were launched, the one for the execution of the construction project could not be launched until the one for the drafting of the construction project had been awarded, which would mean that the work would be completed beyond the deadline for the execution of the works to meet the target set by Europe.

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MOL joins GCMD as impact partner to accelerate decarbonisation

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MOL joins GCMD as impact partner to accelerate decarbonisation. Image: Pixabay
MOL joins GCMD as impact partner to accelerate decarbonisation. Image: Pixabay
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The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation GCMD and MOL announced the signing of a five-year Impact Partnership agreement. On the same day, both parties held a signing ceremony at the GCMD office in Singapore.

Decarbonisation in the maritime industry is a challenge that needs to be achieved through accelerating collaboration and increasing investment by shipping companies, their customers, ports, energy suppliers and public sector actors. As an Impact Partner of GCMD, MOL will utilise its expertise developed over their long history and make various contributions and collaborations through its participation in GCMD’s projects, including providing access to vessels, operating data and evaluation reports so that internal learnings can be shared publicly and used for future trials.

MOL is one of the world’s leaders in the maritime industry and has been leading worldwide discussions on achieving decarbonisation. The carbon budget concept imposes a ceiling to the cumulative amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) that can be emitted globally in order to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degree Celsius by 2050. Intermediate targets to reduce emissions, in addition to a net-zero target, are necessary. While plans are in place to adopt low or zero emissions vessels in the future, it is important to deploy measures to reduce emissions now. Such measures include the use of low-carbon and transition fuels that are available today, and deploying energy savings devices onboard vessels. MOL will bring its extensive capabilities and experience to bear as it joins GCMD and existing partners to accelerate international shipping’s decarbonisation.

Professor Lynn Loo, CEO of the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation, said: “We are proud to have MOL, one of the leading shipowners in Japan, come onboard as an Impact Partner. We are excited to tap on MOL’s track record in developing technical energy efficiency measures to broaden our perspective as we scope an initiative to help increase industry adoption of measures that can increase fuel efficiency of ships.”

Toshiaki Tanaka, Representative Director, Executive Vice President Executive Officer, and Chief Operating Officer of MOL, said: “We are very pleased to be a partner of one of the most important global coalitions. We will make our biggest effort to contribute and accelerate progress towards the net zero future in maritime industry, together with GCMD and all its partners.”

About the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation

The Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation (GCMD) was set up on 1 August 2021 as a non-profit organisation. Our strategic partners include the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), BHP, BW Group, Eastern Pacific Shipping, Foundation Det Norske Veritas, Ocean Network Express, Seatrium, bp, Hapag-Lloyd and NYK. Beyond the strategic partners, GCMD has brought on board 15 partners that engage at the centre level, in addition to more than 80 partners that engage at the project level.

Strategically located in Singapore, the world’s largest bunkering hub and second largest container port, GCMD aims to help the industry eliminate GHG emissions by shaping standards for future fuels, piloting low-carbon solutions in an end-to-end manner under real-world operations conditions, financing first-of-a-kind projects, and fostering collaboration across sectors.

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Container Shipping Lines

Wan Hai Lines establishes its new office in India

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Wan Hai Lines establishes its new office in India. Image: Unsplash
Wan Hai Lines establishes its new office in India. Image: Unsplash
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Aiming to further enhance service quality and gain a stronger foothold in the Indian sub-continent, Wan Hai Lines has established its India new office in Kolkata in July 2023. Contact details for the new office are as follows: WAN HAI LINES (INDIA) PVT. LTD 3rd Floor, Block C, Apeejay House, 15 Park Street, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700016 TEL: 91-33-4450 4500 According to the 2023 Foreign Trade Policy announced by the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India’s export trade volume will reach 2 trillion US dollars in 2030.

Therefore, benefiting from government policy incentives and the shifting trend of the global supply chain, India’s status in global manufacturing and international trade is increasing, which is conducive to maintaining long-term high economic growth. And the proportion of global exports has increased significantly. In addition, the continuous economic stimulus policy will help revitalize the domestic economy, and domestic demand is expected to increase significantly. Therefore, Wan Hai is optimistic about India’s future import and export situation. And also through the establishment of a new office to improve the overall operating efficiency.

Wan Hai India Kolkata office held a grand opening reception in the evening of 27th July. During the banquet, there were many important customers & guests. The Kolkata Port Authority, Kolkata terminal operators, feeder operators and important local customers were invited to send representatives to attend the meeting to express their blessings to Wan Hai’s opening of the Kolkata market. At present, Wan Hai has six owned offices in India, namely Mumbai, Chennai, Mundra, and Vizag, Delhi and the sixth office Kolkata office. In addition to directly providing river port services, it will also simultaneously strengthen service links between India and neighboring countries, such as Nepal and Bhutan. It is expected to pursue customer first through continuous expansion in the future and sustainable business philosophy.

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