• During the meeting, the partners presented the first results of the project concerning the Mapping of European Ports.
• The circular economy activities identified in the 480 European ports analysed include the main and secondary ports of the Ten-T network, relevant fishing and marine ports and other ports of interest.

The second internal meeting of the European project “LOOP-Ports – Circular Economy Network of Ports” took place yesterday in Copenhagen at the Port of Malmö.

The LOOP-Ports project, coordinated by the Fundación Valenciaport and financed by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) through EIT Climate-KIC, has as its main objective to facilitate the transition towards a more circular economy in the port sector, where products, materials and resources are not considered as waste but can become sustainable and replicable business models in ports of similar characteristics.

During the meeting, the partners discussed the first results of the project regarding the Mapping of European Ports. In particular, the circular economy activities identified in the 480 ports analysed, belonging to 23 countries, were presented. This list includes the main and secondary ports of the Ten-T network, relevant fishing and marine ports and other ports of interest. Over 100 circular economy activities have been identified in areas such as waste management, shipbuilding, dredging activities, industrial symbiosis, etc.

One of the objectives of this meeting was to analyse the progress in the creation of a Network of ports that will benefit from the results of the project, among which are: the development of replicable business models in ports with the same needs as well as tailor-made training activities for professionals in the port clusters. The network currently has 31 members and is expected to continue growing significantly in the coming months.

On the other hand, during the meeting – and as external participation – Petra König, Head of the Environmental Area of Copenhagen Malmö Port and Irene del Barrio, representative of the Water and Marine Group of the European Environment Agency, explained to the partners the initiatives they have launched in the field of the circular economy from a port approach.

The next steps of the project will be oriented to analyse the main drivers (legal, political, regulatory, market, financial, etc.) that can facilitate the transition towards a circular economy of the activities linked to the port sector. Furthermore, the project plans to organise 30 seminars (20 at port level and 10 at institutional level) between the end of 2019 and the end of 2020. These seminars will be held in at least 6 countries: Denmark, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Germany and Italy and will deal with all the results of the project so far and will also receive feedback from the stakeholders who are members of the network.

Loop-Ports involves 13 partners from 6 EU member states (Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands): Fundación Valenciaport (coordinator); EIT Climate-KIC S.L.; Climate-KIC S.r.l. Climate-KIC GmbH; Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (DTU); NTU International A/S; Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek (TNO); Università di Bologna; Universität Hamburg; Universidad Politécnica de Madrid; Universitat de València; Eco Environnement Ingenièrie (2EI) and Veolia Innove.

The project will run for just over 2 years (26 months), ending in November 2020.

About EIT Climate-KIC

EIT Climate-KIC is the EU’s largest public-private partnership to tackle climate change through innovation and to build a zero-carbon economy by boosting entrepreneurship. EIT Climate-KIC is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union.

Its focus is on improving the way of life in cities, that industry produces those products that are environmentally and socially friendly, while optimizing the use of land and its resources to produce the necessary food.

It has programmes across Europe to accelerate startups on climate action issues, as well as training programmes to inspire and empower the next generation of leaders in the low-carbon economy.

EIT Climate-KIC currently has a presence in 28 European countries.