AEGIS stands for Advanced, Efficient, and Green Intermodal Systems, and aims to develop flexible and autonomous ships in combination with automated cargo handling in ports in order to streamline and improve waterborne logistics. Improved and greener waterborne logistics systems have the potential to shift cargo from roads to seas, rivers, and canals, offering significant benefits such as reduced pollution and increased road safety.
"We are very proud and view the award as a recognition of the concrete and meaningful results the project has contributed to," says Odd Erik Mørkrid, the coordinator for AEGIS and senior project manager at SINTEF Ocean.
Solutions from the project, including software, could automate and streamline cargo handling in more than 5000 ports in Europe. Both shipping companies and ports are already in the process of implementing innovations from the project. For example, automated terminal tractors, which transfer containers from ships to trucks, are increasingly used in ports worldwide. AEGIS plays a part in this by developing the automation system in the terminal tractor and software that allows the fleet of terminal tractors to be managed efficiently and safely.
AEGIS has 12 partners, including shipping companies, logistics operators, ports, and research organisations, as well as software developers and equipment manufacturers in the maritime industry in the Nordic region and Germany. They have joined forces to design sustainable and competitive logistics systems for maritime transport. The project, funded with 7.5 million euros from Horizon 2020 over three years, will conclude in 2023.
