Hamburg Port bridge digitalization

smart­Port – the in­tel­li­gen­t port

In the port of Ham­burg, state-of-the-art di­gi­ta­l in­tel­li­gence guarantees a smooth, ef­fi­ci­en­t operation. The control ­sys­te­ms used by the HPA are world-leading, while the interaction between sen­sor tech­nology and ana­ly­sis, forecasting and in­for­ma­ti­on ­sys­te­ms delivers huge ef­fici­ency improvements. This is not only good for business, it also protects the environment. The di­gi­tal trend also ensures that we will continue to maintain our leading ­po­si­ti­on in Germany and Eu­ro­pe. Thanks to its smart­PORT phi­lo­so­phy, the Ham­burg Port Aut­ho­ri­ty is achieving sustainable economic growth and maximum benefit for its customers and the people of Ham­burg, while mi­ni­mising its environmental impact. In addition, smart­Port is constantly being developed and adapted.

smart­PORT lo­gis­tics

Thanks to in­tel­li­gen­t solutions for the flow of traffic and goods, the HPA is improving the port's ef­fici­ency. smart­PORT lo­gis­tics combines eco­no­mic and eco­lo­gical as­pec­ts in three sub-sectors: traffic flows, in­fra­structure and the flow of goods. An in­ter­mo­da­l Port­Traf­fic cen­tre for sea, rail and road transport forms the basis for networking the flow of traffic. In­tel­li­gen­t networking is a prerequisite for smooth, ef­fici­en­t transport in the port of Ham­bur­g and ultimately for the flow of goods: op­ti­mum da­ta capture and rapid in­for­ma­ti­on sharing allow lo­gis­tics managers, carriers and agen­ts to select the most efficien­t means of transport for their goods.

smart­PORT en­er­gy

The HPA promotes environmentally-friend­ly mo­bi­li­ty and advocates re­du­ced en­er­gy consumption. smart­PORT en­er­gy therefore helps limit its dependence on con­ven­tio­nally generated power, reduce emis­sio­ns and save money. It focuses on three core areas: re­newable en­er­gi­es, en­er­gy ­ef­fici­ency and mo­bi­li­ty.

smartPORT Logistics Energy digitalization

Navigation in real-time 

Thou­san­ds of trucks drive through the port of Ham­bur­g every day. To ensure that the traffic flows ef­fici­ently, the HPA combines various services and func­ti­ons. Anyone driving around the port benefits from per­so­na­li­sed navigation. As well as in­for­ma­tio­n about the traffic situation in and around the port, they also have access to parking and in­fra­struc­ture ­in­for­ma­tio­n, closures of the moveable bridges, as well as the latest information on important operations.

Shore power from renewable energies

Thanks to a landside cruise liner power supply sourced from re­newa­ble en­er­gi­es, we are significantly re­ducing the environmental impact in Ham­burg. These ocean-going giants are supplied with electricity via a transformer ­sta­ti­on and mo­bi­le transfer mechanism at the Al­to­na cruise ship ­ter­mi­nal. The di­men­sio­ns of the land­side power plant are unique in Eu­ro­pe. We are currently considering using similar mo­dels in other areas of the port in future.

In­tel­li­gen­t railway point

Frequently used points on the harbour railway are fitted with sen­so­rs that transmit da­ta to a cen­tra­l IT sys­tem in real-time. They collect a variety of data by moving or passing over the switching points and thereby provide information about the condition and wear of the essential operational intersections. The benefit: we can identify maintenance work or re­pai­rs at an early stage, thereby avoiding downtime.

The mo­bi­le all-purpose sen­sor

Where is the floating crane? Which emergency vehicle is closest to the incident? In order to be able to answer such questions, a mo­bi­le GPS sen­sor is currently being developed, which wirelessly forwards da­ta to the HPA IT sys­tem. As well as in­tel­li­gen­t fleet ­ma­nage­ment, we will also use the sen­sor for other measurements, such as tem­pe­ra­ture, wind ­speed and direction, air pollution and the flow of the Elbe.

Smar­t maintenance

The in­fra­struc­ture in the port of Ham­bur­g is monitored using mobi­le end devices, such as ta­blets or smart­pho­nes. When con­trolling roads, bridges and tracks, these devices au­to­ma­tically send measurements to the downstream IT sys­te­ms, where the da­ta is processed, stored and edited. The aim is to make the maintenance ­proces­ses more ef­fec­ti­ve and ef­fici­en­t and to improve the qua­li­ty of notifications.

Vir­tu­al de­pot

Truck journeys with empty con­tai­ners put an unnecessary strain on the environment. We have therefore developed the so-called vir­tua­l de­pot to optimise the movement of empty con­tai­ners between packing ­companies. The cloud-­ba­sed sys­tem informs participating operators which con­tai­ners are to be delivered back to the de­pot. The packing company then requests these di­rectly. The result: no more unnecessary empty trips to the de­pot.

Port Mo­ni­tor

The control room soft­ware, Port Mo­ni­tor, allows us to keep all the stakeholders in the port of Ham­bur­g up-to-date. A variety of in­for­ma­tio­n is cen­trally gathered and can also be accessed remotely, such as elec­tro­nic cards, vessel ­po­si­tio­ns, water level­ da­ta, berths, current construction sites, planned dives and bridge heights and widths. Important in­for­ma­tio­n is therefore always accessible to all those involved on land and on the water.

e-Mo­bi­li­ty in the port

Elec­tric vehicles are becoming increasingly commonplace in road transport. We are also reviewing ways of extending e-Mo­bi­li­ty to passenger and freight traffic in the harbour area. We are therefore pressing ahead with charging in­fra­struc­ture, in collaboration with the operators of public charging pillars. At the cruise ship ­ter­mi­nal, we plan to use preferential e-Ta­xis. In addition, we are analysing the viability of e-Mo­bi­li­ty for our staff.

Par­king for pro­fessionals

Always knowing where the nearest free parking space is and preferably reserving this – we aim to fulfil this requirement with the smart­PORT lo­gis­tics app for trucks. Its comprehensive parking ­ma­nage­ment guarantees op­ti­mum utilisation of existing and future truck parking spaces within the port. The sys­tem's features include the detection and management of parking spaces­, especially with a view to relieving the pressure in neighbouring city districts.

Re­newa­ble en­er­gi­es

By fo­cusing on in­no­va­ti­ve tech­no­lo­gi­es, the HPA is adopting a pioneering role in Germany on the issue of a turnaround in energy policy. At the centre of this is the ef­fici­en­t use and expansion of the existing networks, and above al­l options for generating re­newa­ble en­er­gi­es. We are currently reviewing wind and so­lar power and even bio­en­er­gy, because after all large quantities of bio­mas­s also accumulate in and around the harbour area.


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