Closing ranks for the future of Bremen's ports
A consortium comprising the ISL, the University of Bremen, and the Ports of Bremen 2024 won approval for an innovative idea as part of the federal funding program DATIpilot: “Smartport Transfer” – SPorT for short – is the title given to a project aimed at advancing the digitization and market position of the Ports of Bremen in a unique way: Under the umbrella of a joint innovation community, science and industry will not only engage in open exchange, but also pull together in the context of jointly coordinated measures and projects.
With this setting, the new project prevailed over almost 500 applications from all over Germany and is now – together with another Bremen project – one of only 20 initiatives nationwide to receive funding.
Following the funding approval from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and extensive preparatory work since the beginning of the year, “SPorT” is now gaining momentum – starting with a
kick-off event
on May 22, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
at the German Emigration Center, Columbusstraße 65, in Bremerhaven.
There, information will be provided about the goals and further planning, as well as the specifics of funding opportunities for individual measures. What is particularly exciting is that the members of the SPorT community themselves decide which projects and measures will be funded – giving everyone involved a real say. In addition, the kick-off meeting aims to attract as many new members as possible from and around the ports in order to grow the SPorT community and establish it as a permanent structure for knowledge transfer.
The new alliance does not have to start from scratch: on the one hand, the Smartport strategy developed in 2024 in collaboration with the port industry for the ports of Bremen serves as a basis. In addition, the Bremen Research Cluster for Dynamics in Logistics (LogDynamics) at the University of Bremen and the Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (ISL) are contributing their decades of scientific research experience in the field of maritime logistics.
Info: The aim of the DATIpilot program run by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research is to transfer knowledge from research into practical application – at the same time, this should create scope for the implementation of innovative ideas. This is where the activities of the new SPorT community come in, which aims to bundle the region's great creative and innovative potential in the field of maritime economy and logistics. The underlying idea is that the challenges posed by dynamic developments can be overcome more easily and effectively through close cooperation between research, practice, and authorities. In addition, developments can thus find their way into effective application more quickly. The applicants and coordinators of the new SPorT community are the Ports of Bremen via the port management company bremenports, the ISL, and the University of Bremen.
Further information is available from the SPorT management team:
Dipl.-Ing. Martina Wellbrock
Sonstiges Sondervermögen Hafen der Stadtgemeinde Bremen (SVH)
Phone: +49 471 309 01-584
Email: [email protected]
