Corporates and start-ups seal collaborations at PortXL’s 6th edition of Shakedown

Water quality monitoring, artificial reefs, floating solar plants, plastic-cleaning vessels. All examples of the technologies brought to the table by the 2021 edition of PortXL innovation accelerator program.

The mission is clear: grow the economy and sustain the ecology. Corporate representatives from partners Port of Rotterdam, Van Oord, Boskalis and Shell, as well as external company NxtPort international, met up with the innovators to seal collaborations that will kickstart or consolidate their innovation journey. For some, more time was needed to iron out the details, meaning the full impact of the program will be known in the coming months.

2021 cohort

The 10 companies participating in the three-month program are:

Reefy (NL): Artificial reef structures to protect marine life and the coastline.
HelioRec (RUS): Floating solar power plants.
Sealution (BE): On-board crew safety and data system able to locate and alert a superior in case of an emergency or accident involving any crew member.
Clewat (FI): Vessels cleaning up waste and microplastics from waterways up to 200 cubic metres of biomass per hour.
i4sea (BRA): Precise models allowing advance knowledge of the condition of tides, currents, waves, winds, and precipitation for an interest area..
Seaqualize (NL): Smartly balanced heave compensation systems that reduce heave motions and set down-velocities by up to 95%.
TechBinder (NL): Improving human-machine interaction by adopting new technologies such as AR and data analytics.
Fregata Space (SPA): Machine Learning as a Service platform using satellite data to detect pollutants, oil, and chemical spills.
Water Insight (NL): Portable water quality spectrometer using satellite data to monitor effects of dredging or construction.
LexX Technologies (AUS): Digital intelligence for optimised maintenance.

Three of the innovators coming from abroad are strongly considering or have already decided to put down roots in Rotterdam and continue growing their business in the maritime capital of Europe.

PortXL

The mission of PortXL is the acceleration of innovative technologies for the green energy, maritime, logistics and process industry in port regions across the world. PortXL facilitates the signing of paid pilot contracts, leading to entrepreneurs validating their technology, while corporates can test the latest solutions at competitive prices. Furthermore, they get their own teams inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit. This helps keep Rotterdam in the top spot for smartest port in the world and to work towards the goal of a CO2 neutral and digital port.

Source: PortXL