The Port of Rotterdam Authority and PortXL will launch a new innovation programme to initiate 100 innovative pilot projects over the course of 2021 to help the maritime industry recover from the worst effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The objective of the MATCH programme is to bring existing businesses and startups together to create new opportunities and introduce innovations as part of a wider effort to make the Port of Rotterdam smarter and more sustainable.
The Port claims the pandemic has made market stakeholders hesitant to invest in new technologies, a market trend it describes as a ‘COVID dip’.
“Actively bringing the port’s private sector in touch with innovative start-ups,” it said in a statement, “will allow us to test and implement new technologies, sophisticated automation solutions and other new applications.”
The MATCH innovation project is an initiative of PortXL. This accelerator programme has been working since 2015 to help 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.
Over the course of 2021, working in partnership with the port’s business community, PortXL aims to launch 100 innovative pilot projects within the MATCH innovation programme. Companies can submit their specific market challenges to PORTXL, which will then go in search of potential solutions and bring the companies in touch with one or more members of their global innovation network.
