TAEQ - JTG SI: Drivers of Path Dependence and Change in Port Hinterlands

This study examines the various factors influencing the modal share of rail, inland navigation, and short sea shipping for port-hinterland connections. A literature review identifies the critical success factors and challenges considered for each mode and compares how frequently they arise. The Port of Antwerp-Bruges is used as a case study and expert interviews are conducted with key stakeholders within the Port of Antwerp-Bruges to validate or challenge the relevance of the identified factors. A lecture panel discussion further elucidates various stakeholders' perspectives regarding the modal shift. It is found that concerning the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, industry and academia generally agree on the key factors affecting the modal shift. Gaps between literature and industry remain with regard to labor, legislative shortcomings, and practical implications of equipment and personnel availability. Understanding the critical success factors and challenges applicable to each mode will enable effective interventions by each stakeholder in the port-hinterland transport chain.

This study examines how container transport by barge along the Rhine-Alpine Corridor responds to global disruptions. Using network analysis, it identifies critical network nodes and traces the evolution of connections following major disruptions from 2007 to 2022. While there was an average impact of -29% on regional ton-kilometers transported, each disruption was followed by distinct changes in the structure and robustness of network connections, offering insights for improving network resilience based on centrality metrics. This research explores the evolution of cross-border inland navigation in Europe and provides stakeholders with information to formulate regional responses to future disruptions.

With tightening climate regulations, ports are responsible for accounting for emissions resulting from transport and reducing emissions related to their economic activities. Ports are tightly connected with the hinterland economy and thus induce a large quantity of GHG emissions by fossil trucks executing the hinterland transport. This research investigates how ports can facilitate the transition to low-carbon energy technologies for road freight hinterland transport through a structured literature review. We found that ports have insufficiently addressed decarbonisation matters for hinterland transport by road. Ports can support the transition threefold: by initiating technological development, facilitating actor collaborations, and setting institutional interventions. It is essential to consider stakeholder complexity, multi-system character, and dynamics to facilitate the transition of hinterland transport.

Ports are emerging as central nodes in Europe's energy transition, serving as decarbonization hubs for maritime operations and as key facilitators of hinterland transformation. This paper examines the evolving role of European ports in driving the energy transition by integrating hydrogen, electrification, and alternative fuels into intermodal supply chains. By drawing on comparative case studies of ports engaged in energy transition efforts - including ports in Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain - this study explores how ports can act as energy hubs, enabling industrial symbiosis and enhancing hinterland sustainability.
The study addresses two core dimensions:
Governance and Policy Frameworks for Energy Transition: How regulatory frameworks, port governance models, and policy coordination at the EU level influence the integration of alternative fuels and energy solutions.Resilience and Decarbonization of Port-Hinterland Networks: The role of ports in enhancing hinterland resilience through sectoral integration, multimodal logistics solutions, and circular economy models.Findings highlight both enablers and barriers to port-led decarbonization, including infrastructural constraints, policy fragmentation, and investment uncertainties. The paper also identifies successful models of industrial symbiosis and cross-sectoral energy integration, illustrating best practices in port energy transition. By leveraging insights from ESPO's Environmental Report 2024 and other European port initiatives, this study contributes to the discourse on sustainable port-hinterland connectivity, emphasizing the role of ports as drivers of Europe's decarbonization agenda.

Twenty years ago, Notteboom and Rodrigue (2005) first introduced the concept of port regionalization. Since then, the concept has been widely adopted and applied in academic circles and port management. Port regionalization remains an acknowledgment of the functional and operational reality of port/hinterland integration. New academic insights and lessons learned from port practices are an invitation to revisit the concept. This paper provides an overview of the key tenets of the concept. Its overall impacts in academia and the industry are reviewed. It reviews how the concept has evolved, how inland ports are crucial elements of the concept, and possible future developments.