The Hamburg University of Technology (TU Hamburg) is committed to the sustainable transformation of the shipping industry as part of the EU's “ZeroC” project. The project, entitled “Enhancing knowledge and skills at WB HEIs in preparation for zero carbon maritime transport and logistics society” (project number: 101128747 - Zero C), aims to strengthen higher education in Albania and Montenegro to drive decarbonization and optimization in the shipping and logistics industry. To this end, the project participants met for two days at the Schwarzenberg Campus in December.
Focus on knowledge transfer
The focus of the current training was on the transfer of knowledge between the TU Hamburg and three universities in the Western Balkans:
- Aleksander Moisiu University of Durres (Albania), under the direction of Prof. Osman Metalla
- University of Montenegro in Podgorica, Faculty of Maritime Studies, led by Prof. Danilo Nikolic
- University of Vlora (Albania), under the associate professors Kristofer Lapa, Ermal Xhelilaj and Enkelejd Mehilli
The aim of the training was to impart the technical and regulatory knowledge necessary for decarbonization, energy transition and optimization of logistics processes. The training sessions therefore included an introduction to port operations and port logistics, current challenges in ports and their contribution to combating climate change, technical and operational measures to increase energy efficiency and decarbonize port operations, and the import and application of maritime logistics simulation tools.
Prof. Carlos Jahn, head of the Institute of Maritime Logistics, which is organizing the project, says: “Decarbonization is one of the key challenges for the shipping industry worldwide. Education and training in this area is therefore of great importance, because in addition to technological and financial issues, people are the most important drivers. The ‘Zero C’ project is providing valuable impetus and important contributions to the education and training for the decarbonization of shipping in a European context.”
Training to date
The first two training sessions as part of the “ZeroC” project, which were conducted by the National Technical University of Athens in Kotor and Athens, focused on the basics of international and EU climate regulations and concepts of energy efficiency in maritime transport. The current training at the TU Hamburg complements this knowledge transfer by focusing on port logistics and sustainable transformation.
Long-term objective
The long-term goal of the “ZeroC” project is to firmly integrate the training content into courses at the three participating universities. This will ensure that future professionals from the region are optimally prepared for the challenges of the shipping industry. The Zero C research project is funded by the European Union as part of the ERASMUS2027 program.
