New innovation programme MATCH by PortXL commences

COVID-19 has led to increased pressure on innovation budgets in the maritime industry. This caused many innovation projects involving start-ups and scale-up to come to a hold or full stop. Drastically decreasing innovation opportunities that could contribute to solving important challenges such as digitalisation and the energy transition in the port of Rotterdam. That is why PortXL launched their new innovation programme: MATCH by PortXL.

Many innovation projects have been affected by the freezing of R&D budgets. A tremendous blow for innovative entrepreneurs and ultimately the port industry as a whole. Immediate (and continues) action is required to maintain strengthen the position of the Rotterdam maritime cluster. As well as to get the sector future proof. The industry needs to innovate and dare to seize opportunities.

MATCH by PortXL

With the MATCH programme PortXL aims to prepare the industry for better times by realising 100 innovation projects in on one year. They will do this by connecting companies and entrepreneurs. In other words: connecting ships with tugboats that accompany them ship safely to the port. 'Think like a tugboat' is at the core of MATCH. Taking one step at the time in the right direction. Companies can submit specific market challenges to Port XL. Who search for potential solutions and bring the companies in touch with one or more members of their global innovation network. Participation in the programme is free of charge for companies. Applicaions can be send to match@portxl.org or through the online MATCH tool.

Check the tool

Barbara Kathmann, Vice-mayor City of Rotterdam: "The MATCH programme once again shows that Rotterdam is the breeding ground for maritime innovation and this will continue during Corona. By bringing international innovations to Rotterdam and working together with entrepreneurs in the maritime cluster here, we are stimulating the innovations that the city and port desperately need. Therefore I call on companies in the region to submit their innovation challenge to PortXL. If they meet the 100 challenges, which are part of their recovery plan, we will also strengthen our position as Maritime Capital of Europe."

About PortXL

Since 2015 PortXL helps entrepreneurs in the port area bring new innovations to market. Having already built up a worldwide network of over 4,000 innovative entrepreneurs, PortXL can find a solution to virtually every problem. PortXL helps innovative entrepreneurs and start-ups ‘get on the radar’ of companies that want to improve their processes. For start-ups, finding the right opening at a potential client and starting up novel projects can be a time-consuming and often expensive undertaking. And established firms in turn can benefit from the swift inception of innovative projects, since this allows them to increase the efficiency of their operations and save costs.

Source: MATCH by PortXL