New parcelling of the port area could become a sustainable prototype

Aalborg’s East Port is more popular than ever with the business sector. Last year alone, the area attracted companies such as Maskinfabrikken Fuglsang and Kongsberg (formerly Rolls Royce Marine), and the development in recent years means that there will be a need for more space if the trend is to continue.

This is the assessment of Port of Aalborg, and the port is already responding to the challenge. They have begun preparing for development of a 110,000-square-metre site between Tranholmvej and Rørdalsvej, with an option to add a further 32,000 square metres on the other side of Rørdalsvej, facing the fjord.

However, this will not necessarily be classic site development. The Port of Aalborg is discussing with the relevant authorities the potential for creating a modern and innovative industrial area, focusing on symbiosis and free flow of resources between the area’s businesses and operators.

– We’d like to further expand the underlying philosophy of our Miljø++ project to include a test centre that, from the very beginning, will create the ideal setting for companies to exchange resources freely, irrespective of the specific type of resources, says Mette Schmidt, Technical and Environmental Manager at Port of Aalborg, and she continues:

– This industrial park will require a completely new type of administration, focusing on symbiosis and collaboration. If it’s to be a success, we’ll need to focus constantly on attracting the right businesses and locating them strategically in relation to one another in order to ensure the best possible flow of resources between the parties. It’s important to stress here that this is not solely about energy. Synergies can be many things, and anyone who has any ideas or input about potential relevant synergies is always welcome to contact us.

Some examples of resources which need to be put to better use in the new area are surplus heat, electricity, all types of water, equipment, manpower, networks, collaboration and knowledge, production waste, etc.

The ambition is to inspire
Like Miljø++, which targets the business sector in Aalborg East as a whole, the project must be reproducible and scalable, and according to Mette Schmidt it would be an obvious move to integrate the area into a potential new national green test centre.

– The aim is to create solutions which can be copied by others for the benefit of all of Aalborg and the entire country, for that matter. It ties in well with the ideas behind the recommendations of the Danish Government’s Growth Team for Green Energy and Environmental Technology for the national green test centre, and if we can succeed in attracting this to Aalborg it would be obvious to include this new area. We have the opportunity to make a prototype where we think in terms of synergies, digitalisation, collaboration and new technologies from the very beginning, and we consider this a great advantage.’

There is already a demand for the new space, and the port has received specific enquiries. However, it is not yet certain that the area will become the symbiosis platform Port of Aalborg dreams of. According to Mette Schmidt, this would mean identifying the right legal framework to permit symbiosis.

– It’s a challenge because this way of running an industrial park is very different from the traditional method, and we’ll need special rules and terms if it’s to make sense. For these reasons, we’re already in discussions with the authorities to see whether we can identify some framework conditions that will make the project possible.

If this doesn’t succeed, the plan is to develop the site conventionally and to offer the individual parcels of land according to the same terms that apply to Port of Aalborg’s other industrial areas.

For further details, please contact:

• Mette Schmidt, Technical and Environmental Manager, Port of Aalborg, tel. +45 2920 7253, ext. no. +45 9930 1553 and ms@aalborghavn.dk
• Press Service: Maja Thordahl Schou, Communication Consultant, Aalborg Havn A/S, tel. +45 9930 1500, ext. no. +45 9930 1528, mobile +45 2261 8308 and mts@aalborghavn.dk