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Press release

Ambitious international consortium kicks off ePIcenter project
on future-proof logistic chains

 
 Montreal, June 17, 2020 — The Montreal Port Authority is pleased to join the ePIcenter project, officially launched by a large consortium of 36 partners representing leading ports, forwarders, cargo owners, logistics providers, knowledge institutes and technology firms. Under the coordination of Port of Antwerp, the ePIcenter project is funded by the European Horizon 2020 programme and has a timeframe of 42 months.
 

The partners will join forces to provide hands on solutions that turn global supply chain challenges caused by increasing length, complexity and vulnerability into opportunities. The goal will be to enable seamless transport of goods, focusing especially on the technological and operational opportunities that the Physical Internet, synchro-modal operations and other disruptive technologies such as Hyperloop, Industry 4.0 and autonomous vehicles provide.

ePIcenter has a truly global scope, with a number of large scale demonstrators on main shipping routes from Europe to Canada and the US, as well as new trade routes such as the Northern Sea Route and the new Silk Road routes. Technology innovators and environmental experts will collaborate to develop new solutions which increase the efficiency and sustainability of global supply chains.

With result oriented field trials and working with some of the most ambitious players in the trade & logistics sector, ePIcenter commits to create solutions with tangible impact towards the sustainable logistics chain of the future.

Daniel Olivier, Director, Business Intelligence and Innovation of the Port of Montreal: “ePIcenter is a forward-looking project that will not only strengthen Montreal’s leadership in smart solutions, but will also strengthen trans-Atlantic trade, leveraging a cyber-secure corridor between Montreal and long-time partner Antwerp. It will combine trade facilitation with state-of-the-art cyber secure technologies to serve Canadian supply chains. Future-proofing the port and enhancing supply chain resilience is critically important in a post-COVID world.”

 

2020 06 17 drapeau union europeenneThis project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 861584.

 

About the Port of Montreal

Operated by the Montreal Port Authority (MPA), the Port of Montreal is the second largest port in Canada and a diversified transshipment centre that handles all types of goods: containerized and non-containerized cargo, liquid bulk and dry bulk. The only container port in Quebec, it is a destination port served by the largest shipping lines in the world. It is also an intermodal hub with a service offering that is unique in North America, featuring its own rail network directly dockside connected to Canada’s two national rail networks. The MPA also operates a Cruise Terminal and a Port Centre.

The MPA factors economic, social and environmental components into its corporate initiatives. This commitment is governed by a sustainable development policy whose guiding principles focus on involvement, cooperation and accountability. Port activity supports 19,000 jobs and generates $2.6 billion in economic benefits annually.

 

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