Acronym: PIXEL (Technical support to ThPA on PIXEL)
Duration: May 2018 – September 2021
Project Partners: The PIXEL project (Port IoT for Environmental Leverage) was executed by a consortium of 15 partners from 7 European countries, combining expertise from port authorities, research institutions, and technology providers. The role of UPRC was to provide technical support to one of the project partners, the Thessaloniki Port Authority S.A.
Project Overview:
The PIXEL project (Port IoT for Environmental Leverage) is a H2020 initiative designed to reduce the environmental footprint of ports by leveraging IoT, enabling green growth in surrounding cities. It developed the Port Environmental Index (PEI), a quantitative, real-time metric for tracking and optimizing emissions from vessels, terminals, and cargo operations.
Key Outputs:
Port Environmental Index (PEI): A single, standardized quantitative metric that aggregates real-time data on air quality, noise, energy, and waste to assess a port’s environmental footprint.
- PIXEL IoT Platform: An open-source, interoperable platform that breaks down data silos by integrating information from port authorities, terminal operators, and city sensor networks.
- Operational Management Dashboard: A centralized interface providing real-time visibility into port operations and resource usage.
- Predictive Algorithms: Tools for forecasting vessel arrival/departure times (ETA/ETD), energy demand, and potential traffic bottlenecks.
- Modeling & Simulation Tools: Simulations of port processes used to test optimization strategies before physical implementation.
Expected Impacts:
- Environmental Footprint Reduction: Targeted decrease of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 15–20% through more efficient resource management.
- Operational Efficiency: Lowered infrastructure and operational costs by optimizing cargo flows and reducing idling times for vessels and trucks.
- Improved Port-City Integration: Enhanced collaboration between ports and their surrounding urban areas to mitigate noise, traffic, and pollution.
- Enhanced Energy Profile: Increased uptake of renewable energy sources and improved energy efficiency across port terminals.
- Standardized Benchmarking: The PEI allows ports of different sizes to compare their environmental performance using a common methodology for the first time.
More information: https://pixel-ports.eu/
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 769355.