I3-4 Blue Growth – NL Ecosystem Visit in Den Haag and the Port of Rotterdam

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By Marek Grzybowski

The Hague and Rotterdam’s seaports, universities and startups are driving innovation in maritime industries. Innovations in the maritime industries of the European Union are currently top-shelf. Participants of the I-3 4 Blue Growth – NL Ecosystem Visit study visit to the Port of Rotterdam, science and technology parks in The Hague and the Upstream Festival startup festival in Rotterdam could see for themselves. The technical university in the technology park in The Hague financed by companies, the science and research center in the Port of Rotterdam, innovations in the maritime industries and their surroundings financed by companies are the most important points of activity in this region.

The Port of Rotterdam Authority employs around 1,400 people. The Port of Rotterdam Authority’s sales exceed EUR 880 million annually. In 2024, the total transshipment of the terminals reached 435.8 million tonnes, compared to 438.8 million tonnes in the same period last year. The decrease in transshipment is mainly due to the lower supply of coal and crude oil. On the other hand, an increase in transshipment was recorded in the container segment. Services performed in the port provided a profit of EUR 274 million last year – explains Martin Perez, representative of the Port of Rotterdam.

 

 

 

The innovation and startup support ecosystem of the Port of Rotterdam
The port supports innovation. Over 3,000 companies operating in the port and its surroundings provide over 60 billion euros in revenue to the state budget. Such added value is generated by port workers, freight forwarders, maritime agents and many others working in industrial plants operating in the port. Over 192,000 people work directly and indirectly in plants operating on 6,000 ha of Rotterdam-Rijnmond.

They are supported by over 500,000 employees working in Dutch companies alone. In the port, you can see not only the largest container ships, tankers and bulk carriers but also numerous barges. Around 28,000 ocean-going ships dock here annually. Goods are brought and taken away by around 91,000 barges annually. The port also houses an installation terminal for offshore wind farms.

The Port of Rotterdam is not just transshipment. It is also educational and scientific-research activity, supporting innovation and starting businesses from scratch. The Rotterdam Port Authority is the leading partner of the Upstream Festival in Rotterdam. a place “where innovation meets the opportunity for commercialization”. The organizers emphasize that it is “a gathering of representatives from around the world, visionaries, entrepreneurs, investors and people making changes”.

 

Port of startups and scale-ups
– The Port of Rotterdam is proud to be partnering with Upstream 2025, which aims to unite startups and scale-ups to drive sustainable growth in the port. During this event, we strive to create valuable connections, supporting cooperation that builds a solid innovation ecosystem. Together, we want to accelerate innovation and transformation throughout the port and the city – emphasizes the Port of Rotterdam Authority.

Operating for over 10 years under the auspices of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, PortXL has a strong position in supporting innovation in the maritime industry. PortXL supports startups and scale-ups by connecting their activities with leading companies from the maritime industries. As part of the platform, several dozen maritime startups and scale-ups have developed activities in maritime businesses.
– The Makers District operating in the Port of Rotterdam is a place for companies creating innovative projects that enrich the port ecosystem – says Jouke Goslinga, Program Manager of the Port of Rotterdam. This is where, among others, a company that prints bollards operates. The Port of Rotterdam Authority has installed the world’s first 3D printed steel bollards on the new quay at Sleepboothaven in Rotterdam Heijplaat. The twelve 3D bollards were developed by the Port Authority’s Projects Department and engineers from RAMLAB.
The Rotterdam Makers District is also home to a model pool, TU Delft’s research centre, RDM AQUALAB. The Waterhub Rotterdam project and the Floating Pavilion Rotterdam were developed here, as well as many other pioneering solutions, such as an underwater robot for cleaning the seabed of waste, and the Hyperloop system by HARDT.
A visit to the TU Delft Campus was an opportunity to learn how a technical university operates in a business environment and how the demand for innovation creates scientific and educational activities. The Rotterdam Port Authority supports academic researchers and graduates by providing them with space for research and business.
– TU Delft is a world-renowned technology university with 32,000 students. It has a large number of field laboratories and a strong entrepreneurial spirit, emphasizes Luc Schrover.

TU Delft Campus – synergy of science and business. Source: TU Delft
Synergy of the technical university with business
– It is a place where a community of startups operating in the formula of over 200 companies operates. TU Delft Campus is an international environment conducive to innovation, shaping the future of robotics, quantum technologies, health and technology, and energy transformation – emphasizes Schrover.
The strongly applied activities of TU Delft are indicated by the vision planned for the years 2024-2030, which emphasizes that “TU Delft contributes to solving complex and urgent societal challenges by educating highly qualified engineers who are creative, innovative and responsible, by pushing the boundaries of technical sciences, by developing innovative applications and by supporting entrepreneurship”.
The Unknown University “Titaan” goes even further, which operates in the science and technology park in The Hague. Students study according to programs designed by companies. At Unknown University “Titaan” “you will be surrounded by people who have previously successfully founded and developed companies”.

 

– Unknown University allows you to study and run a startup, provides internships, additional work and participation in projects that allow you to increase your entrepreneurial skills – explains Ester Wojasowa, leader of the I3-4 Blue Growth project at Unknown University “Titaan”. Titaan is the largest innovation development center in the Netherlands, where students are also involved in creating a company.
Students can gain not only knowledge in the field of entrepreneurship and innovation, but during their studies they are supported in founding a company and earn a bachelor’s degree. On the other hand, the Master of Science program in business development was developed for students who have companies and are ready to develop the business or operate as a start-up.
Pre-Master studies allow you to gain scaling knowledge during your studies, how to go from an idea to a start-up founder. Students not only gain technical knowledge, but also learn how to build their team, find investors, enter markets and introduce sustainable products or services to them.
In turn, YES!Delft provided an opportunity to see how an extremely effective startup generator works. The shareholders of the technology park are Delft University of Technology, the Municipality of Delft and Erasmus University. YES!Delft operates on the campus of TU Delft in Delft, the aforementioned technology center. Thanks to a large group of investors and partners, over 500 startups have been launched in the last few years, 82% of which are now active on international markets. Over 300 investors have played a significant role in their development.

 

The Hague – Scheveningen – a sustainable port
It is also worth mentioning the seaport of Scheveningen, which is the port of The Hague. The Hague – Scheveningen is mainly a marina and fishing port, but also a port to which cruise ships, both large and small, go. Due to the activity and accessibility of Rotterdam, The Hague-Scheveningen receives about ten passenger ships per year. At the Adriaan Maaskade quay, right next to the boulevard and the beach, a ship up to 120 meters can dock. Ships up to 165 meters have the Vissershavenweg quay prepared.

Until the 1960s, the main area of ​​activity of the port was fishing and fish processing. Today, the port and the clean and well-equipped beaches around it are one of the biggest attractions of Scheveningen. With over 3.5 million visitors per year, the port of Scheveningen is a popular place for residents and tourists. That is why the Hague-Scheveningen port authority, which is now located close to the city centre, focuses on ecology, renewable energy and sustainable development.

The meeting in The Hague and Rotterdam was attended by around 50 people from maritime clusters from Croatia, Portugal, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Italy and Finland. The Baltic Sea and Space Cluster is taking part in the project from Poland. The i3-4-BLUE-GROWTH project aims to strengthen the position of less developed European regions in order to strengthen the potential of their maritime economy ecosystems. The project focuses on joint actions for the development of a sustainable and intelligent maritime economy.

 

Solutions related to ecological food production and the development of renewable energy in marine waters are promoted. Decarbonization of the marine sector is also an important area of ​​cooperation. i3-4-BLUE-GROWTH includes ten partners from eight different countries. The consortium is led by the National Innovation Agency (Portugal).
It also includes the Merinova Technology Center (Finland), the Croatian Agency for SMEs, Innovation and Investment (Croatia), the Aquaculture Technology Center (Spain), Agrifood Clust-ER (Italy), Pole Mer Bretagne Atlantique (France), the Regional Directorate for Science and Technology – Regional Government of the Azores (Portugal), Unknown Group (Netherlands), Baltic Sea & Space Cluster (Poland) and BLUEBIO ALLIANCE (Portugal).
These maritime clusters and organisations develop interregional cooperation and contribute to capacity building in less developed regions, including the Autonomous Region of the Azores and the central and northern regions of Portugal. The cooperation within the project aims to ensure synergies and development of cooperation with the main European maritime clusters.