Duisburg, June 7. 2024
Mona Neubaur, Minister for Economic Affairs, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy and Deputy Minister-President of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, visited the Port of Duisburg on June 7, 2024, to learn about the innovative 5G project “5G smart.logport Duisburg”. As a project partner, the University of Duisburg-Essen coordinated the research and development work. The project is being carried out as part of the 5G.NRW competition and is supported by the State of North Rhine-Westphalia with approximately one million euros in funding.
On June 7, 2024, NRW Minister for Economic Affairs Mona Neubaur informed herself during her visit to the Port of Duisburg about the innovative 5G project “5G smart.logport Duisburg” as part of the 5G.NRW competition.
The Minister’s participation demonstrates the significance of the 5G project for economic development and innovation in North Rhine-Westphalia. Mona Neubaur: “As one of the most important logistics hubs in the heart of Europe, it is crucial for the Port of Duisburg to remain internationally competitive in the future and to position itself digitally, sustainably and efficiently with the help of smart solutions. An important step in this direction is the innovative project ‘5G smart.logport Duisburg’, which exemplarily connects the sectors of industry, logistics and telecommunications that are central to North Rhine-Westphalia. I am confident: This pioneering project from the 5G.NRW competition will, with the financial support of the state and strong partners, significantly advance the digital transformation of the Port of Duisburg.”
The 5G project focuses on establishing a test field in the Port of Duisburg, where mobile communications technology is being tested for the semi-automated control of port cranes. The project’s objective is to increase container handling capacity and thus enhance efficiency in port operations. The public kick-off of the project took place on November 3, 2022, in Duisburg’s inner harbor.
Until now, semi-automatic control of mobile handling equipment in inland ports was not possible. Through this project, the technical prerequisites for this are now being created in Duisburg for the first time. Participants include the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE), Duisburger Hafen AG (duisport), Deutsche Telekom, represented by T-Systems and Detecon International, and the duisport subsidiaries startport GmbH and POLO KNOW-HOW Industrie-Engineering GmbH, as well as the City of Duisburg as an associated partner. Project coordinator Prof. Dr. Andreas Stöhr from the University of Duisburg-Essen explains the research project: “UDE has developed central components of the digital infrastructure for semi-automatic crane control as well as high-precision satellite and radar-based positioning systems and integrated them into the 5G campus network of the Port of Duisburg. These sensors capture the precise position data of the containers and transmit them to the central control center. In addition, the university has installed high-speed directional radio links that enable videos from remote camera systems to be transmitted immediately to the control center.”
The D3T terminal at logport I is the pilot area where the semi-automated control of container cranes is being tested through the use of 5G technology, among other applications. The project participants presented the current project progress here.
“We were happy to support this project because testing automation is important for future-ready logistics,” explains Michael Rüscher, Economic Affairs Officer of the City of Duisburg. “In Duisburg, we can hardly provide additional logistics areas. Therefore, it is important to optimize efficiency and processes in order to continue expanding at this location.”
“The Port of Duisburg is not only one of the most important and largest logistics hubs in Europe, it is also a center for innovation and digitalization in logistics,” says duisport CEO Markus Bangen. “Through the semi-automated control of container cranes, we can make the processes at the terminals significantly more efficient and noticeably relieve our crane operators in their physically demanding work.”
Mathias Poeten, Head of Mobile Network at Telekom Deutschland: “As Telekom, we are not only providing the 5G infrastructure here in Duisburg, but together with our partners in the project, we are also researching and developing new 5G application areas for greater efficiency in port logistics. Today we were able to clearly demonstrate: The particularly powerful and secure 5G technology is an important driver for the digitalization of logistics processes—and creates a true harbor for innovation in Duisburg.”
UDE Rector, Prof. Dr. Barbara Albert, points out the importance of engineering sciences at the location: “With 5G research, the electrical engineering department of the University of Duisburg-Essen is at the forefront nationwide. This makes logistics innovations possible here on the Rhine and Ruhr that are still unthinkable elsewhere.”
Photos: Marco Stepniak / duisport