On October 17, 2024, the third meeting of the northern German FFCs took place at the Industriehaus in Bremen. This time, Wirtschaftsverband Weser e.V. being the host; Thomas Voigt welcomed representatives from the logistics industry and project partners, including Sabrina Wilms from bremenports GmbH & Co. KG, Amir Ali Bashash and Thomas Brauner from the Logistik-Initiative Hamburg, as well as Jessica Nolte from Norddeutsche Wasserweg Logistik GmbH and Regina Loitz and Maxim Heinrich from TOP Mehrwert-Logistik GmbH & Co. KG.
Status and Updates
The meeting began with an overview of the individual status of the two FFCs. Regina and Maxim from TOP reported on the delays surrounding the planned use case of supplying retailers and shops at HafenCity Hamburg’s new shopping center, which is now scheduled to open in March 2025. At the same time, Thomas and Amir provided insights into the collaboration with Horizon Europe project DECARBOMILE, which is piloting another use case involving parcel delivery via urban inland vessel in Hamburg. Here, InnoWaTr could provide a good overlap to enable test runs. Jessica provided an update from NWL on the planned container transport between Bremen and Hamburg. While the service from Hamburg to Bremen is off to a good start, a permanent connection seems to be hindered by certain market-related challenges. Regardless, CO2 reduction plays an important role—a topic that concerned all attendees. Another exciting report came from Sabrina, who talked about a semester project with Jade University for the CoE. Two student groups developed two business cases for inland shipping; among them was an urban approach for beverage transport in the city of Bremen.
Outlook and Next Steps
The meeting concluded with a look ahead to joint events and the preparation for the upcoming Paris overall project meeting. A joint lunch on the "Alexander von Humboldt" also provided an opportunity for networking and exchange. A new date was set for another meeting in Hamburg in mid-February 2025 to discuss progress and develop new ideas.
An Exciting Start to the Semester: The Container Serious Game at HSB
Meanwhile, coinciding with the start of the semester, the “collaborative container transport game”, tested as part of InnoWaTr as an interactive educational training approach and led by Dr. Layla Martin from TU Eindhoven, took place at Hochschule Bremen – City University of Applied Sciences. Following earlier test-runs in Linz, Osnabrück and Bremerhaven, the game in Bremen was another success, well-received not only by the students but also by Prof. Thomas Pawlik, the lecturer, and study course director Prof. Suzette Suarez, who actively participated. As a representative of bremenports, Matthias Hinz had the opportunity to take an active part in the container game. The positive atmosphere and engagement of all participants made the event a special experience.
Overall, the meeting was a great success—with many new ideas and a clear direction for the coming months. The northern German FFCs, TU Eindhoven, and bremenports are committed to collaboration and innovation to tackle the challenges in the logistics industry. We are excited to see what progress the coming months will bring!
