On Thursday 24 June, the contenders for the 6th PortXL acceleration program were announced. Fifteen innovative entrepreneurs from all over the world have been selected. Among these are the Dutch companies Reefy and Seaqualize. The selected companies will take part of the program in Rotterdam from 6 September to 2 December this year.
PortXL is the world’s first port accelerator. Launched in 2015, it’s ambition is to bridge the gap between innovative entrepreneurs and the established port industry and accelerate innovative technologies for the green energy, maritime, logistics and process industry in port regions across the world. PortXL facilitates the signing of paid pilot contracts, leading to entrepreneurs validating their technology while corporations can test the latest solutions at competitive prices. The 2019 edition saw 29 contracts signed by the 16 participants.
This year’s selection was held digitally, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 150 partners, mentors, industry experts and former program participants joined to assist in evaluating the candidates during two days. The selected companies were announced by representatives from lead partners: Daan Baljedt, Manager RD and Innovation at Van Oord and Vivienne de Leeuw, CFO at Port of Rotterdam.
The selected innovative companies are from 11 different countries across 3 continents and cover a wide variety of technology solutions, from floating solar panels to air quality sensors to mental health support to balanced heave compensation.
Among them are Dutch Seaqualize, public winner of the 2019 Offshore Wind Innovation Award, with their smartly balanced heave compensation systems that reduce heave motions and set down-velocities by up to 95% and Reefy, winner of the 2020 Offshore Wind Innovation Challenge, with their artificial reef structures to protect marine life and the coastline.
Other selected companies include:
- Clewat, Finland – Vessels cleaning up garbage and microplastics from waterways up to 200 cubic meters of biomass per hour.
- HelioRec, Russia – Floating solar power plants.
- Sealution, Belgium – On-board crew safety and data system able to locate and alert a superior in case of an emergency or accident of any crewmember.
- Water Insight, The Netherlands – Portable water quality spectrometer using satellite data to monitor effects of dredging or construction.
- H3 Dynamics, Singapore – Autonomous drone operations with propriety docking station.
- i4Sea, Brazil – Precise models allowing advance knowledge of the condition of tides, currents, waves, winds, and precipitation for an interest area.
- TechBinder, The Netherlands – Improving human-machine interaction by adopting new technologies such as AR and data analytics.
- Navigine, Russia – Navigation and tracking capabilities inside buildings independent of the external environment.
- Fregata Space, Spain – Machine Learning as a Service (SaaS) platform including satellite imagery with warning systems that detect pollutants, oil and chemical spills.
- LexX Technologies, Australia – Digital intelligence for optimized maintenance.
- Breeze Technologies, Germany – Technology leader for air quality sensors, air quality data and air quality analytics software.
- Mental Health Support Solutions, Germany – Qualified team of psychologists providing support and solutions to individuals and companies through 24/7 hotline, training, and workshops.
- ecoSPEARS, USA – Technology systems for removing PCBs (highly toxic industrial compounds) from land & water sources using NASA technology.
Next step
The companies will each send up to 2 representatives to take part in the program in Rotterdam, which will feature many workshops, partner meetings and extensive networking to facilitate the signing of paid pilot contracts. Of the selected companies, 4 are start-ups and will participate in the acceleration track and 11 are scale-ups that will be taking part in the business fast track. Both tracks happen concurrently and are tailored to the needs of a start-up or scale-up. Signings will occur at a ceremony at Shakedown. The aim is to introduce and implement as many as possible within the Rotterdam port area and beyond, growing the economy while sustaining the ecology. Source: PortXL
