Smart Port Challenge (SPC) is an annual innovation competition to find the best ideas and solutions from technology start-ups to address challenges, or innovation opportunities, put forth by maritime corporates in Singapore.

This will be an Online event, held from the PIER71TM office in Singapore.

This event is conducted in a Ask-Me-Anything format: please submit your questions in advance for the organisers to prepare their in-depth responses.

Greening the Supply Chain: https://pigeonhole.at/5Q3BH5

Preparing for Electrification: https://pigeonhole.at/GYE3KP

Innovation Opportunity #1: Greening The Supply Chain: How Can We Enhance Transparency, Traceability, Regulatory Compliance, And Accountability At A Sector-Wide Level To Enable A Green Maritime Supply Chain?

Singapore has committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. In March 2022, MPA and industry partners released the Maritime Singapore Decarbonisation Blueprint 2050.

However, Singapore’s maritime sector transcends borders, various stakeholders, and multi-model transportation from land to sea. Greening the entire maritime supply chain is a huge endeavour to undertake and will have to overcome system-level complexities. Solutions may include standards reporting systems, ecosystem-level coordination, and technological innovations that improve traceability and accountability.

Potential Solution Spaces:

Automate Accountability and Traceability– Innovate low-cost, auto-calibrating sensors that measure a ship’s GHG emissions– Use Application Programming Interface (API) to automate compliance assessment, which should be customisable to each SME’s requirements (drawing inspiration from Singapore’s Tax Authority’s Auto-inclusion scheme)

Enable Ecosystem Collaboration:

– Develop a collaborative, trusted platform to convene maritime stakeholders on ecosystem-level efforts e.g., promoting circular economy practices– Build a central sustainability marketplace that compares decarbonisation solutions e.g.: fuel trading platform that represents different fuel types, prices points, and resulting emissions

Successful solutions:

– Should be low-cost, considering product price and cost of any retrofitting required– Ideally should be in a plug-and-play form

Full details on the Innovation Opportunity can be found here

This event is conducted in a Ask-Me-Anything format: please submit your questions in advance here for the organisers to prepare their in-depth responses.

Innovation Opportunity #2: Preparing For Electrification: How Can Electrification Technology And Infrastructure Meet The Efficiency And Cost Requirements Of The Maritime Sector?

From 2030, all new harbour crafts operating in Singapore’s port waters must be fully electric, be capable of using B100 biofuel, or be compatible with net-zero fuels such as hydrogen. However, the lack of onshore and offshore charging stations, limited berthing space, speed of charging, energy density of batteries, efficiency of battery swap approaches and infrastructure investments required, end-of-life disposal, and cost concerns are inhibiting early adoption.

Challenges

Battery Swap

Lighter weight of batteries will improve the viability of battery swapping at a mothership: too heavy a load may incur higher emissions

• Address fire hazard due to exposed connections when removing and fitting batteries
• Improving interoperability of a larger pool of batteries and the corresponding battery management system (BMS) for different vessel types will minimise charging downtime

Battery

• Close the energy density gap between Li-ion battery (known for having the highest energy density) and Marine Gas Oil, from the current 40 times difference down to 2 times difference. Lithium-sulphur batteries have energy densities 50% higher than Li-ion batteries but have not yet been commercialized.
• Lower cost of battery and modifications needed to encourage shipowners’ adoption

Desired Outcome

Solution spaces may include reducing charging times, improving the performance and capacities of batteries through battery designs, redesigning batteries to allow batteries to be of a lower weight and improve interoperability.

Successful solutions will:

• Be cost competitive
• Be easily usable by ship crew e.g., they will know how to optimize battery usage and not overload the battery
• Optimised for forecasted usage, optimal battery life routes

Market Potential

All new harbour crafts operating in Singapore’s port waters must be fully electric by 2030, have the ability to use B100 biofuel, or be compatible with net-zero fuels such as hydrogen.

Full details on the Innovation Opportunity can be found here

This event is conducted in a Ask-Me-Anything format: please submit your questions in advance here for the organisers to prepare their in-depth responses.

For more about PIER71TM: www.pier71.sg

Smart Port Challenge 2023: https://pier71.sg/smart-port-challenge/

Proposal Submission by 31 July 2023, 5pm SGT to: https://pier71.typeform.com/to/bkwkN6ki