Challenges of the
About the Challenger – Hitachi Energy
Hitachi Energy is a global technology leader advancing the energy transition through the integration of power systems, digital solutions and automation. As part of the Hitachi Group, the company operates at the intersection of energy and digitalisation, addressing complex challenges in infrastructure‑intensive environments such as ports and terminals.
Through this challenge, Hitachi Energy aims to collaborate with startups to explore innovative and scalable solutions for multi‑vector energy management in port terminals, with a strong focus on real operational use cases and a clear pathway towards a deployable Proof of Concept (PoC) in a live port environment.
Challenge Brief
Ports and maritime terminals are undergoing a profound energy transformation. The progressive electrification of operations, the integration of new renewable energy sources, and the emergence of new energy vectors—such as Onshore Power Supply (OPS), electric vehicle charging, photovoltaic self-consumption, energy storage, production and consumption of hydrogen and E-fuels—are significantly increasing the complexity of terminal energy management.
In parallel, the decarbonisation objectives of maritime and port transport require terminals to adopt advanced tools capable of quantifying, comparing and anticipating the environmental impact of operational decisions. The gradual replacement of diesel-based solutions with electrified alternatives—such as OPS, electric vehicles or renewable generation—demands reliable models to estimate CO₂ emissions reductions and support data driven decision making.
This challenge focuses on the design of a next generation, multivector Energy Management System (EMS) tailored to port terminals, capable of acting as a digital control layer between energy and operations.
The proposed EMS should enable terminal operators to:
The EMS is expected to function as an energy and operations control tower, providing capabilities such as:
Expected Outcomes
Each participating startup is expected to deliver:
About the challenger – VPI Logística
Valencia Plataforma Intermodal y Logística, s.a. s.m.e. m.p., VPI Logística, is a company belonging to the Port Authority of Valencia group, APV, responsible for the development, marketing and management of the Logistics Activities Zone of the Port of Valencia (ZAL), one of the infrastructures that strengthen the competitiveness and sustainability of the port-logistics ecosystem.
This role is in line with Valenciaport’s strategy to consolidate logistics areas linked to maritime and rail traffic, in order to improve the competitiveness of the hinterland, reduce emissions and promote intermodality in freight traffic associated with port activity.
Description of the challenge
The Port of Valencia’s ZAL faces the challenge of becoming a smart logistics environment, where access management, security and mobility are integrated in an efficient, automated and sustainable manner.
In this context, it is a priority to design an access, security and mobility management system that not only meets current operational needs but is also capable of anticipating future developments. This allows for the implementation of a highly controlled and advanced model, capable of automating processes, improving traceability and optimising operations without compromising traffic flow
Unlike other logistics environments, the ZAL has specific characteristics: a fully enclosed site with controlled access, featuring urban-style roads and the coexistence of multiple operators. This context requires balancing access control and security with the need to ensure the smooth flow of vehicles and people, avoiding operational friction.
Furthermore, the future connection to the Fuente de San Luis rail logistics facility, managed by ADIF, introduces a new vector for incoming and outgoing flows, which requires designing, from the outset, a model capable of managing multiple access points in a coordinated and efficient manner.
The challenge lies in designing a comprehensive, intelligent and sustainable model that enables the coordination of access to the site, ensures security and optimises internal mobility.
This model must integrate traditional solutions — such as on-site surveillance, video surveillance and access control systems — with advanced technologies that facilitate automation, real-time monitoring and data analytics for decision-making.
All of this must be developed in compliance with current regulations, particularly regarding data protection (GDPR and LOPDGDD), incorporating ‘privacy by design’ principles and ensuring data processing is minimised.
The system must be agile, user-friendly, scalable and capable of integrating with existing services, contributing to the ZAL’s evolution towards a digitalised and efficient environment.
We are seeking solutions that add value in one or more of the following areas:
1. Smart access and advanced security, compatible with the urban nature of the ZAL’s roads and with data protection regulations.
2. Smart management of heavy traffic, with the aim of improving the flow of access and the efficiency of logistics flows.
3. Digital tools for the comprehensive management of the ZAL (smart logistics park).
4. Environmental sustainability and operational efficiency.
This challenge represents an opportunity to define, from the outset, the management model for one of the main logistics hubs of the Port of Valencia.
Expected results
We expect a comprehensive and actionable proposal that describes:
· Firstly, a functional architecture of the system that describes its components, information flows and necessary integrations. This architecture must incorporate a cybersecurity approach and a preliminary legal framework that addresses the legal basis for data processing, the roles of the stakeholders involved, and the criteria for data minimisation and retention.
· Secondly, a limited pilot proposal that allows the solution to be validated in a real-world environment, such as an access point or a critical area. This pilot must define its scope, necessary resources, planning and cost estimate, as well as key performance indicators (KPIs) related to improving access flow, reducing waiting times, minimising manual intervention, privacy-compliant traceability, and the system’s integration capacity and scalability.
· Finally, consideration will be given to the presentation or the possibility of subsequently implementing a prototype or demonstrator that allows the solution’s operation to be visualised, whether through an interface, an access management workflow, or a basic monitoring and alert system.
Overall, we are seeking proposals that combine innovation and real-world applicability, with particular emphasis on operational simplicity, efficiency and the ability to adapt to a complex and evolving logistics environment. The ultimate aim is to move towards a smart management model that positions the Port of Valencia’s ZAL as a benchmark in advanced, digital and sustainable logistics.
About the challenger – Comité de Innovación Clúster de Valenciaport
The Comité de Innovación Clúster de Valenciaport promotes collaborative projects within the port logistics community to turn shared operational needs into pilot schemes and scalable solutions.
Challenge description
Ports are increasingly exposed to disruptions that can have an immediate impact on safety, service levels, and operational continuity. In Valencia, these disruptions include extreme weather events, security incidents, power failures, cyberattacks, logistical congestion, and external crises affecting the supply chain. When they occur, the challenge is not only to detect them early, but also to coordinate decisions and responses amongst a wide range of stakeholders: the port authority and maritime authorities, terminals, technical and nautical services, customs and inspections, shipping lines/freight forwarders, logistics operators and land transport.
The vision behind this challenge is a comprehensive platform for monitoring, prediction, and enabling collaboration and response that strengthens the end-to-end resilience of the Port of Valencia. The solution must function as a digital layer of resilience, unifying real-time signals, predictive capabilities and response orchestration to anticipate disruptions before they affect operations, assess impacts on terminals and critical services, and activate potential action protocols across the entire cluster.
The platform should integrate real-time monitoring via IoT sensors (e.g. weather, pollution, structural vibration or asset location), incorporate machine vision for security and drones for inspections where this adds value, and connect with relevant external sources such as AEMET, Puertos del Estado or EMSA. It must also support advanced analytics, including AI for risk prediction, geospatial visualisation with GIS and, where justified, a Digital Twin-type view to simulate scenarios and understand the impact. Given that disruptions can degrade connectivity and availability, resilience by design is key.
The ambition is to move towards a smart and resilient port infrastructure, aligned with continuity and security standards such as UNE-ISO 22301 and ISO 28000, and with sustainability frameworks such as the SDGs and the Green Deal.
The challenge lies in providing solutions that contribute to this vision. We are seeking comprehensive solutions, but also solutions with partial approaches that offer significant added value. To this end, the following areas of potential disruption to port business continuity have been identified, which can be addressed either comprehensively or partially:
Expected outcomes
Each participating start-up will co-create a conceptual design of their proposed platform tailored to the Port of Valencia, explaining how data is captured and integrated, how predictions and alerts are generated, and how these translate into coordinated actions among the various stakeholders. In addition, a clear path towards a Proof of Concept (PoC) should be defined, with an initial limited pilot (for example, response to severe storms, coordinated diversion of lorries and trains in the event of congestion, or coordination in the event of a power cut/cyber incident), identifying minimum integrations, resilience requirements and success criteria that demonstrate real improvement in coordination and continuity.
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