ROBUST: Digital solutions for flood protection in Bremen's overseaport
Extreme storm surges pose a particular challenge for flood protection in Bremerhaven. In such situations, emergency services must manually operate a large number of closure structures on site—i.e., gates, dyke openings, or culverts through which water could otherwise enter—and immediately report the completion of this work or any problems encountered, for example, to the dyke protection center. Currently, this is done via mobile phone, with all the weaknesses of this technology – from busy lines due to the large number of reports to communication problems caused by the often difficult weather conditions at the closure teams' location.
“When it comes to flood protection, preparation is everything,” emphasizes Henry Behrends, who is responsible for flood protection among other things in the bremenports management team: “If, in the event of an emergency, the information does not reach us in time at the dyke protection center, for example, that a gate cannot be closed due to problems of any kind, this could have serious consequences. It is therefore absolutely essential for us to ensure this flow of information.” This simply requires robust structures – which also explains the name of the project that is now to deal with this issue: “ROBUST.” Under this title, bremenports applied for funding and recently received approval from the Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport. The goal of the project is to create a digital solution in the ports of Bremen that will make flood protection even more efficient and secure, at a total cost of just under €1 million, with the ministry's funding covering about 80 percent of this.
ROBUST aims to collect data and make it available
“The aim of the project is to develop a digital real-time flood monitoring system,” explains Christian von Deetzen, team leader for dykes at bremenports, adding: “To this end, modern sensor technology is now being installed at the gates and culverts leading to the Weser as part of the ROBUST project. This technology will record and process important data, starting with whether the respective closure is open or closed.” This data makes it possible to optimize the information chain during critical situations, thereby not only improving the protection of the infrastructure, but also increasing occupational safety for emergency services and accelerating the resumption of port operations after storm surges.
How ROBUST is being implemented
To this end, a digital test field is first being set up at the overseas port, comprising 31 of the total of almost 80 closure structures along the flood protection line. Depending on requirements, contactless or mechanical/magnetic limit switches for position monitoring are being installed at each of these structures. The data collected will then be gathered centrally, digitally processed, and displayed on an interactive map, which will be accessible both locally and on mobile devices. In addition, interfaces are planned that will allow other authorized parties, such as disaster control authorities or research institutions, to access the data. Furthermore, “ROBUST” is intended to provide a space for testing innovative technologies and processes under real-life conditions: the data from the test field will be used to develop new standards for closure objects and to introduce sensor technologies at other locations. The aim is to strengthen flood protection in the long term and to transfer the experience gained in Bremen to other regions.
“ROBUST” marks a milestone in the development of innovative flood protection solutions. The project shows how modern technology can help overcome complex challenges. Bremen is thus setting a new standard for the resilience of its ports and making an important contribution to the protection of infrastructure and the population.
Background
The foundation for the digital test field was laid as part of the IHATEC funding projects “Port2Connect” and “SAMS.” As part of “ROBUST,” an initial investment of just under one million euros is now planned—following the successful application for funding submitted by bremenports on behalf of the special port fund, 80 percent of this will now be covered by the Federal Ministry of Digital and Transport. The project will run for one year until the end of 2025.
Images available for download:
Picture 1: Caption: Hatches are also among the closures that are to be equipped with sensors in the future.
Picture 2: Caption: At some culverts in the flood protection line, higher water levels require physical strength and manual labor.
Picture 3: Caption: Other culverts are secured with large gates—in the future, data will be collected and transmitted from all of them in order to improve flood protection.
