By Celeste Muilwijk
As part of the MAGPIE project’s drive to shape the European Green Port of the Future, Demo 10 has delivered a data-driven success story in smarter road traffic management and sustainable logistics. Through collaboration and technological innovation, the Port of Rotterdam and its partners have demonstrated how targeted road traffic spreading and off-peak distribution can improve operational efficiency and support green transition goals.
Key takeaways
- Strategic focus: Rather than building new psychical infrastructure, Demo 10 prioritized digital tools and innovative operational approaches to optimize the existing road network. By integrating real-time data analysis and stakeholder insights, the initiative has validated the benefits of spreading truck movements across off-peak hours, especially in short-haul and long-haul corridor operations.
- Pilot results: 10 major pilots have been completed including collaboration with leading food and agricultural importers. The shift from manual data collection to seamless on-board computer data enabled the analysis of over 3,000 truck trips within 18 months—marking a substantial step toward scalable and robust, data-driven decision-making. The analysis revealed an average 10‑minute reduction in travel time during off‑peak hours and a significant flattening of warehouse workload peaks, while stakeholders benefited from real-time operational insights through tailored PowerBI dashboards.
- Environmental impact: Emissions modelling carried out with partner IPFEN from work package 4, showed that optimized traffic spreading could achieve an annual CO₂ reduction of about 1%, and an analogous reduction of local pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx). While this is a modest overall contribution, the results provide clear evidence that more balanced road usage can help reduce emission peaks (by about 30%) and locally improve air quality—especially along busy truck routes. To achieve significant progress in public health and sustainability, however, the report recommends combining traffic redistribution with a strong push toward cleaner, low- and zero-emission fuels.
- Toolkit development: Demo 10 laid the groundwork for a practical industry toolkit, which will be delivered in the end of Q3 offering best practices, digital templates and resources, and data dashboards to facilitate off-peak distribution as a standard industry practice.
- Collaboration & scalability: Project success hinged on close cooperation between data scientists, digital tool developers, and industry partners. Challenges in data integration and stakeholder engagement were met with structured collaboration, transparent communication, and continuous refinement of methods. The scalable toolkit and dashboard approach promises relevance beyond Rotterdam, supporting adoption across European ports.
Future Utilization
As Demo 10 concludes, its results serve as essential groundwork for next steps in sustainable logistics at the Port of Rotterdam. The lessons learned, data insights, and emissions modelling from this demo pave the way for broader initiatives under the port’s sustainability strategy. A key milestone will be the handover to new projects, such as those implementing the HESP (Haven Emissie Simulatie Platform) tool, for more granular, real-time emissions tracking and smarter logistics management.
The final deliverables from Demo 10, including actionable dashboards and pilot findings, will guide ongoing efforts to further optimize road traffic spreading. As attention shifts to new and broader port programs, the insights from Demo 10 will inform and inspire continued progress toward greener, more efficient, and future-proof transport systems in Rotterdam and beyond.
