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Section outline

  • The Innovation Marketplace will be created based on ALICE Knowledge Platform that will be adapted to host relevant R&I Project results, Outcome, Implementation Cases and Logistics Clouds results following the valorisation guidelines. Current Knowledge Platform business model supports this functionality. Additionally, matchmaking capabilities and other required functionalities and processes will be developed to create a full Innovation Marketplace as well as the long-term sustainability strategy (i.e. economically) for it.

    • In this forum you can share your solutions for other users to discover them. Add a new discussion and share brief information on your solutions.

      ALICE secretariat may follow up with you to include them as part of the portfolio of solutions of the Innovation Marketplace


    • In this forum you can share your  needs/ pain points and challenges other users to discover them. Add a new discussion and share brief information on your solutions.

      ALICE secretariat may follow up with you to include them as part of the Innovation Marketplace


  • You can find more information about BOOSTLOG project on ALICE website, on the Knowledge Platform and on the European Commission Page.


    • BOOSTLOG Vision is transforming European freight transport and logistics R&I ecosystem to perform optimally boosting impact generation out of R&I investment contributing to i) EU policy objectives towards climate neutrality, pollution, congestion and noise reduction, free movement of goods, internal security, digital transformation of logistics chains and data sharing logistics ecosystems and ii) companies sustainability and competitiveness generating value for society.

      BOOSTLOG has identified 4 main areas of action: i) increase visibility and support valorisation of R&I project Results, Outcomes and Implementation Cases in the freight transport and logistics field ii) develope an implement valorization strategies and guidelines to speed up the technological and organisational innovation uptake, including the creation of the Innovation Marketplace and issue recommendations to increase impact of R&I public funding, iii) Define high potential & priority R&I gaps to make efficient uses of R&I investments and iv) Strengthen R&I impacts communication and Stakeholders engagement in the innovation process.

      BOOSTLOG will: i) map and assess around 150 EU-funded R&D since FP5 in different freight transport and logistics domains (i.e. the Logistics Clouds), ii) Increase the visibility of projects main results, outputs and potential implementation cases through ALICE Knowledge Platform, iii) develop at least 8 comprehensive and industry actionable reports starting with: a) urban logistics, b) logistics nodes, c) multimodal freight, corridors & transport networks d) freight and logistics data sharing, e) logistics coordination & collaboration, vi) modularization and transhipment to share progress made and highlight the impact achieved through R&I projects, iv) develop valorisation strategies and guidelines for public R&I uptake, v) create the reference innovation marketplace for R&I uptake and vi) identify high priority and potential R&I gaps that need to be prioritiezed in future R&I actions.

      You can find more information about BOOSTLOG on the Knowledge Platform and on the European Commission Page.



    • Urban Logistics

    • MIXMOVE[1] offers intelligent, horizontal collaboration between shipper, carrier, hub, distributor and the end customer. The aim is to increase load factors to boost efficiency and reduce costs, while at the same time creating more sustainable supply chains by making smart use of transport modes. The logistics process, taking place in terminals (nodes) is based on splitting logistics units down to parcel-level so that cross-docking can be used to produce logistics units with vastly improved load factors. Splitting up pallets down to parcel level ensures dynamically meeting customer needs. The consolidation/reconstruction process also makes decisions about how the logistics units are being moved from the terminal. Decisions about consolidation/reconstruction and use of transport services are based on a set of decision rules that can be changed at any time. Hence to solution offers resilience in case new barriers or disruptions should occur.


    • TRI-VIZOR[1] is the first impartial orchestrator for transport and logistics, that prepares, designs, and operates horizontal partnerships and collaborative communities among shippers. The company, originally raised as a spin-off of the University of Antwerp in 2008, offers specialized knowledge and solutions to prepare, create, support, and orchestrate flow bundling and horizontal partnerships in transport and logistics.


    • SMARTBOX[1] is an innovative and reusable transport box to increase efficiency and sustainability in logistic processes.

      It was developed by GS1 under the framework of the “smartBOX” project[2] which developed the technical design of the smartBOX as reusable container, designed a standardized pooling system including tracking and tracing technology and a business model for intelligent order control and cost splitting, designed of vandalism-proof pick up and drop off terminals to be implemented at public hot spots as well as housing complexes, developed a comprehensive, intermodal transport concept to enable autonomous and bundled transports.


    • CRC Services[1] has developed a model to help companies to mutualize their flows for the last 100 km of goods delivery. The model allows suppliers to deliver goods from their distribution centers in collaboration with other supplier and to make savings by optimising orders and vehicle loads.


    • Building upon the FREVUE project results demonstrating that electric vans and trucks can offer a viable alternative to diesel vehicles, some of the consortium partners participated in further projects aimed at supporting the wider transition to electric vehicles for larger commercial fleets.

      https://crossriverpartnership.org/news/seul-wins-big-at-the-global-good-awards-2020/

    • The MOSCA project provided a set of tools for improving the efficiency of door-to-door transport of goods in urban areas by collaboratively providing demand and supply-side information in one single environment/system. Five modules were developed as solutions to answer some peculiar urban freight problems and needs of the cities’ administrations and logistics and transport operators.  Based on extensive research on urgent user needs, a set of advanced applications were designed. For these applications suitable modules have been identified and developed. The figure below provides a short summary of how the user requirements (external circle) impact the applications (middle circle), which were in turn mapped into the MOSCA modules (Inner circle). The MOSCA system moduls communicate with each other and further external systems. One of the modurban logisticse developed by MOSCA project is MOSCA TOUR, an algorithm to plan delivery tours for a vehicle fleet if variable traffic conditions are given. It is embedded into logistics application software, which must invoke it providing data of the orders to be serviced, the objective function, and the characteristics of the vehicles’ fleet.

      https://www.interportopd.it/cityporto/

    • The MOSCA project provided a set of tools for improving the efficiency of door-to-door transport of goods in urban areas by collaboratively providing demand and supply-side information in one single environment/system. Five modules were developed as solutions to answer some peculiar urban freight problems and needs of the cities’ administrations and logistics and transport operators.  Based on extensive research on urgent user needs, a set of advanced applications were designed. For these applications suitable modules have been identified and developed. The figure below provides a short summary of how the user requirements (external circle) impact the applications (middle circle), which were in turn mapped into the MOSCA modules (Inner circle). The MOSCA system moduls communicate with each other and further external systems. It’s important to highlight that MOSCA aimed at exploiting project outputs supporting applications in existing and newly developed information systems. The information system development was market-led from the very beginning involving both transport operators and relevant service providers in extricating their needs.

      http://www.trt.it/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/1-TRIMODE_Leaflet_2018.pdf


    • Logistics nodes

    • Ver las imágenes de origen

      Ports are the major gateway for both import and export flows. The 90% of the international trade (45 TUSD) is carried by sea. The volume of traffic for marine ports is expected to increase. The increasing demand collides with actual inefficiency. Today, the 80% of ports still rely on paper-based processes for general cargo. Freights on the yard are not tracked, there is no knowledge on where the specific freights are positioned, and all the port operations are still manual and left to the experience of port’s operators.
    • Ver las imágenes de origen

      This implementation case also comes from COREALIS, a project aiming to define the future era of European ports using the latest technology available in order to face the greatest challenges on the agenda such as efficiency or environment.

      Within this project, several pilots were implemented to test their outcomes. In this case it is of particular interest the pilot in the Port of Piraeus. Within this Living Lab, they tested the COREALIS Predictor Asset Management tool.


    • PIXEL

      The following implementation case was developed as an outcome of the PIXEL project (Port IoT for Environmental Leverage) aiming to manage an efficient use of resources in ports, sustainable development and green growth of ports and surrounding cities/regions.

      Within the outcomes, PIXEL developed an index named Port Environmental Index (PEI), which is a quantitative indicator of the environmental performance.  The index is believed to be very challenging as it represents a huge progress in combining diverse sciences to achieve the results.

    • Circle Spa is a consulting company for management and processes, innovative technological solutions in the port, intermodal and logistics field. Their high participation in European projects allows them to have a deep knowledge and to make significant headway like the current implementation case.

      The Port Rail Shunting Optimization System is the result of collecting the outcomes of an R&D project and implementing them in a CEF one.


      https://www.circlegroup.eu/

    • Clusters 2.0 is a Horizon 2020 project setting up the potential of European Logistics Clusters for a sustainable, efficient and fully integrated transport system. 

      It relies on the Ten-T Network of Logistics Clusters promoting the intermodality and supports local and European development, while keeping neutral the local impacts such as congestion, noise, land use and local pollution levels. 


      http://www.clusters20.eu/

    • Freight and logistics data sharing

    • Project focus: ICT and smart tools for logistics and management in freight
    • Project focus: Enhanced port engineering by smart approaches implementation

    • Project Focus: ICT and smart tools for logistics and management in freight

    • Logistics Networks


    • As an outcome of the CREAM project, the train monitoring solution “Train Monitor” has been developed and implemented within and after the project lifetime. 

      In 2007, when the CREAM project started, a long-standing deficit in rail transport was the availability of status information to smoothly integrate rail transport into logistics processes. Developments in the previous years had improved the situation e.g., on transalpine corridors. However, all in all the conditions continued to be poor for international rail freight, as on the routes between Western Europe and Southeast Europe. The IT system “Train Monitor” closed existing information gaps by integrating train operation data from numerous sources, showing automatically calculated values for the estimated time of arrival (ETA) and providing a train data base for quality statistics and operation analyses. 

      Train Monitor is a web-based software system for the monitoring of train movements, developed by Hacon. It is well suited for being used on the entire transport corridor considered by CREAM. Train Monitor has been adapted to the specific needs of Kombiverkehr – one of the biggest combined transport operators in Europe – and integrates information on process steps connected with train handlings inside the transshipment terminals. Thanks to the modular system architecture it can easily be adapted for other operators and railway companies. Train Monitor consists of three functional modules: (1) RealTime for tracking and tracing of currently running trains, (2) HIM Information Manager for exchanging additional operation information and (3) File&View to store data appropriately and to exploit this data for ex-post analysis purposes. Besides this the system enables a multi-client access, backs on a sophisticated user ac-cess management for keeping secured data confidential and supports a number of languages (e.g., German, English, Italian, Slovenian).

    • Another outcome of the CREAM project, is a new multimodal short sea – rail transport service between Turkey – Germany vie the Port of Trieste in Italy. (“The CREAM Project: Technical and operational innovations implemented on a European rail freight corridor”, 07/2012)

      Turkish trucks travel up to 7.000 km in each round-trip on their journey to and from West European countries. Ekol Logistics has developed an effective and environmentally friendly solution to this problem. A new intermodal transport system which reduced the share of land transport to only 2.000 km.

    • The main outcome of the RETRACK project has been a new and innovative trans-European rail freight service concept as an alternative to the national railway’s single wagon system.

    • The Smart Rail project outcomes have been implemented and tested in three so-called “Continuous Improvement Tracks” (CIT) during the project, focussing on different aspects of the SMART-RAIL concepts and furthermore aim to generate improvements on different corridors. CIT 3 targets the Rotterdam-Genoa corridor and deals with rail freight reliability in case of (unexpected) obstructions on the track. It specifically aims to increase the flexibility and reliability of rail freight transport within a multimodal transport system.

    • The TIGER DEMO project was the logical follow-up and continuation of the TIGER project in which innovative concepts for rail-based intermodal hinterland connections of seaports have been developed. TIGER DEMO focussed on the implementation, execution and assessment of three demonstrators in which “real” intermodal trains have been operated.

    • Physical Internet


    • The Open Logistics Foundation is a non-profit operating foundation advocating the promotion of open source applications in logistics.

      The Foundation’s primary goal is to facilitate collaborative development of open source solutions to existing problems in logistics and supply chain management. Our Innovation Community develops common standards, tools, and services, which can be used commercially by any player in the industry. Collaborative development and the use of open source software and hardware ensures high process efficiency. The Foundation offers various possibilities to participate.

      Established/launched: 2021

      Building on previous projects: SENSE

    • DISCO (Data-driven, Integrated, Syncromodal, Collaborative and Optimized urban freight meta-system for new generation of urban logistics and planning with data sharing at European Living Labs) is a Horizon Europe project that supports more efficient and flexible use of urban space towards zero emission urban logistics.

      Established/launched: 2023

      Building on previous projects: SENSE, ULaaDs

    • URBANE (Upscaling Innovative Green Urban Logistics Solutions Through Multi-Actor Collaboration and PI-inspired Last Mile Deliveries), is a Horizon Europe project that supports the transition path towards effective, resilient, safe and sustainable last-mile transport, through four Lighthouse Living La Labs and following cities.

      Established/launched: 2023

      Building on previous projects: SELIS, ULaaDs


    • Efficient and zero emission freight transport

    • Smart Freight Centre was founded during the last year of the COFRET project and has been instrumental in the past decade to develop and promote the GLEC Framework in the logistics sector, to develop it into an ISO standard, as well as to be adopted in the CountEmissionsEU proposal on transport emissions calculation and reporting. There were a couple of opportunities that came together to allow SFC to create impact based off COFRET’s project results. However, this was only possible since COFRET was successful in creating results with high impact.

    • The consecutive projects TRANSFORMERS and AEROFLEX resulted in two implementation cases: and innovative trailer design and regenerative e-axle. The trailer designed by Van Eck Trailers in TRANSFORMERS is optimised for assignments were the trailer volume is not optimally used. The new trailer design increases the load capacity within the weight and dimensions regulations (valid at the time of the project).

    • The third implementation case that was identified were the hydrogen refuelling stations (HRS), designated to trucks, build during the H2Haul project. The station in Fos-sur-Mer (France) of Air Liquide is the first truck HRS with a working pressure of 700 bar. Currently, the mass flow of the station is restricted to mid flow (90 g/s), since hardware and fuelling protocols are missing. Nevertheless, we see that the hydrogen truck technology is making the shift of 350bar to 700bar, so more hydrogen can be stored on the truck and longer driving ranges are attainable.

    • Digital Technologies

    • Container transport operations need a complete management of the lifecycle of container weight requests in order to comply with the Convention on the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) from International Maritime Organization (IMO). The shipper became the responsible for obtaining the Verified Gross Mass (VGM) of a full container and communicating it to the shipping company, with a VGM certificate.


    • As far as predictive AI algorithms and IoT technology are concerned, PAS provides data to various models (air pollution, energy, etc) that calculate operating schedules of the port. It predicts the type of machinery will be used and for how long, allowing for assessing what-if scenarios. PAS uses the vessel calls, available machinery and the chain of operations for each cargo (supply chain) and prioritizes them after which the machinery operations are distributed across time. The solution has been implemented by the Ports of Bordeaux, Thessaloniki and Monfalcone


    • Ports play an important role in global supply chains. The use of IoT is considered a key feature for port operators to improve the efficiency of port operations, to be able to better manage (container goods) traffic, to empower their workforces increasing throughput and to decrease carbon emissions while making traffic safer. In addition, smart IoT solutions support automation and intelligent transport control to realize the physical Internet.

      The R&D project I2PANEMA helps ports to become (a network of) smart ports by exploring and demonstrating the applicability of IoT technologies. With this approach, I2PANEMA aims to make ports more efficient and sustainable by introducing IoT based measures such as Active Noise Control systems and keeping pollution (like noise, dust) under control while promoting multimodal transport as part of the physical internet. Case studies from the project show the possibilities for developing ports in Physical Internet Nodes.


    • The Hamburg Living Lab demonstrated new functionalities of 5G as MEC, and that providing precise positioning via uRLLC (low latency communication) can improve the efficiency of logistic operations. On the other hand, it also proved that improved 5G network functionalities as mMTC (Massive Machine-type Communications) and eMBB (Enhanced Mobile Broadband) are essential for any future mobile network applications. The case expanded the services of Skylark and the Deutsche Telekom.


    • Urban Logistics

    • Several cloud related projects, mainly in the FP7, aimed at developing or testing new vehicle-related solutions.


    • Logistics nodes

    • In the field of logistics nodes, (cyber)security and protection are fundamental aspects to guarantee their correct performance.

      As key infrastructures in world trade, they are susceptible to all kinds of attacks or dangers, such as terrorist attacks or those related to the illegal trafficking of people or drugs. In addition, the development of new technologies and information and communication systems has generated another type of threat to logistics nodes: intangible threats, known as cyber-attacks.

    • Optimal planning of schedules, yard operations and terminals are objectives pursued by all logistics nodes, leading to reduced inefficiencies (reductions in downtimes, bottlenecks, costs, environmental impacts, etc.).


    • As a strong response to meet the new needs that have emerged in the organisations that interact and ultimately comprise the logistics nodes, a large number of projects have addressed the way forward for these infrastructures in the future.

      The focus has mainly been on opportunities for collaboration, management and governance and new business models, all involving a wide range of actors, both public and private.


    • Logistics nodes are points at which cargo is transferred between modes of transport, handling different types of cargo and using specialised machinery. In order to be able to carry out such complex operations and improve cargo handling capacity, technological advances and innovation have been developing for years in the field of machinery and transport.


    • Freight and logistics data sharing

    • Logistics Networks

    • Projects that developed outcomes with particular relevance to the “infrastructure” layer (= 3 projects) are: ARCC, FR8RAIL III, MOSES.


    • Projects that developed outcomes with particular relevance to the “transport services” layer (= 10 projects) are: CREAM, GET SERVICE, INTERFACE, LessThanWagonLoad, NEWS, NOVIMAR, RETRACK, Smart-Rail, ViWaS, TIGER DEMO.


    • Projects that developed outcomes with particular relevance to the “logistics” layer (= 4 projects) are: GIFTS, LOGISTAR, SYNCHRO-NET, TELLISYS.


    • Physical Internet

    • The development, testing and demonstration of the Physical Internet is among the EU priorities for research and innovation in the field of logistics following the recommendations from ALICE. Many projects have been funded addressing different aspects of the Physical internet. Some projects, e.g., MODULUSHCA, ATROPINE, CLUSTERS 2.0, SENSE and ICONET were funded to develop the basis and increase credibility on the benefits to advance towards the concept of PI. For example, ICONET project developed 4 case studies addressing senior decision makers within logistics service providers, logistics service users, trade organisations, professional institutes, government regulators and policymakers demonstrating the benefits of the Physical Internet.

    • This section presents the main results and outcomes stemming from the projects that have made contributions to development of the PI concept. Those projects have contributed all of the areas included by the PI roadmap, from logistics nodes to governance models. Those projects laid a foundation to the research and development of PI in Europe and beyond. Those projects have not only significantly developed theoretical models, tested and evaluated them in real-life conditions in order to provide tangible benefits of application of the PI concept, thus generating extensive impacts on the logistics sector.