GREEN&BLUE INNOVATION HUB

In the current European energy transition process, a sustainable blue economy represents
an essential element in achieving the climate and environmental objectives set by the
European Commission, starting with those programmed in the Green Deal, including: climate
neutrality, decarbonisation of maritime transport, passage to a circular economy, marine
environment protection, new policies to increase the resilience of coastal areas to climate
change, better management of maritime space.
In this context, a new role also emerges for one of the fundamental nodes of the blue
economy: ports, which also become “energy hubs” and at the same time contribute to the
development of a circular economy.
In the conference sessions we highlight the latest trends and innovations applied to the blue
economy sector to make it increasingly sustainable and to support the energy transition.

Time flies, they say, and the goal of 90% reduction in transport emission by 2050 seems hard to meet at this point. Hydrogen and ammonia are the most discussed “new” fuels for ships when the discussion comes to shipping decarbonization, but they’re not the only free-emissions possible propulsions: within the session we will also discuss opportunities and challenges - tech and business wise - of wind propulsion and electric systems using batteries.

The possibility of being defined as "energy communities" has finally been recognized to ports, as a support for their transition to the use of renewable energies to satisfy the typical energy-intensive needs of port areas. Ports therefore assume an increasingly central role in the current energy transition process, becoming energy hubs - energy storage and distribution points - and encouraging the consumption of green energy by the entire maritime cluster and inland supply chain. Which will be the next steps of this new path for ports?

The “blue economy” is a huge segment of the European economy. Nevertheless, we are fully aware of the impact of its activities on both the oceans and the land and, therefore, the importance of making it as sustainable as possible to support the European green transition. In this context, alongside the effort to reduce emissions, it is necessary to take action in order to develop circular economy models which will also generate new business opportunities for all the blue economy sectors and will greatly benefit marine ecosystems. Within the session there will be a focus on the crucial role of ports in reducing marine litter through effective waste management.

What are the real perspectives and uses of cold ironing in the Italian and European context? The electrification of the docks is underway at various speeds throughout Europe, but the sector still presents several barriers to an harmonized development: let’s discuss technical aspects, governance, energy taxation and management of incentives.

Renewable energy will play a fundamental role in reaching the European goal of being climate-neutral by 2050 – including the generation of more energy at sea and from the sea. Although the deployment of offshore technologies for electricity generation in the Mediterranean Sea has been relatively slow so far, thanks to technology innovation, there is now a big potential for further development in a cost-effective way, both for wind and wave energy power.

Every year, hundreds of millions of travelers transit through European ports. Sometimes, friction with the city where ports are located might arise because of the management of a large number of tourists, transportation congestion and high polluting emissions. Today, thanks to the cooperation between ports, local administrators and other public-private players such as cruise companies, it is possible to foster a better city-port relationship with projects and initiatives that support an integrated and more sustainable development of the city-port areas in terms of economic, social, cultural and environmental aspects.