On October 21, 2025, the AHK debelux Innovation Conference took place in Liège (BE) on the theme "Building Resilience For Ports & Their Value Chain." The BCBL supported the event as a partner event.

The event provided insights, showcased concrete solutions, and offered intensive discussions around the future of technology, infrastructure, and collaboration in the Belgium-Germany-Luxembourg Greater Region. The conference demonstrated that the Greater Region has the expertise, technology, and will to jointly develop solutions for the challenges of tomorrow.

Key takeaways:

• Cross-border cooperation is essential to address current challenges—in research, infrastructure, and security.

• Smarter use of data leads to greater efficiency and security. Resilience also means protecting data.

• Legislation poses a major hurdle, particularly for autonomous technologies like drones.

• The three countries have strong innovation capabilities to tackle current and future challenges. Ports in all three countries are collaborating more closely to address future challenges.

The Luxembourg Ambassador to Belgium, Jean-Louis Thill, and the German Ambassador to Belgium, Martin Kotthaus, welcomed the guests and emphasized the need for fast innovation cycles and investment in defense technologies, highlighting the importance of open borders and intermodal infrastructure.

Practical business cases were then presented. André Au, Research Associate at Fraunhofer Center for Maritime Logistics and Services, showcased autonomous boats and drones used to secure port infrastructure in Kiel and Hamburg. These systems detect cracks in dock walls and identify ships carrying suspicious cargo without requiring large personnel resources. Philippe Beaujean, Business Development Advisor at Port of Antwerp-Bruges, demonstrated how digitalization and automation are already effectively applied—from digital bollards to remotely controlled ships addressing the shortage of skippers.

This was followed by a panel discussion on "Business Activities under Changing Security Conditions."

Panelists Gilles Braquet (CEO Luxport Group), Hélène Thiebaut (Communication Director, Port Autonome de Liège), and Philippe Beaujean discussed the importance of resilient supply chains, the role of ports as Europe’s industrial backbone, and the need to make better use of data. Philippe Beaujean noted, “We are constantly under attack,” emphasizing the role of innovation and technology in data collection and protection. Hélène Thiebaut highlighted the strategic role of inland ports in European logistics and presented the Triologieport at Port Autonome de Liège. Gilles Braquet showed how smaller ports can operate efficiently and safely through technology. The panel agreed that collaboration rather than competition is the key to the future—even with legislators.

The conference concluded with a pitching session featuring four startups and scaleups presenting innovative solutions for security, compliance, and logistics optimization:

• Laurent Renard, CEO Phoenix AI: intelligent video analysis to detect illegal activities

• Patrick Goergen, CEO RespectUs: AI-powered platform for export control compliance

• Sebastian Bienia, Co-Founder Sentics: visual real-time localization for secure industrial environments

• Jonas Lackmann, Venture Associate Conroo: digital connection of trucks with terminals to optimize operations

All details and additional photos from the event can be found on AHK debelux organisiert am 21. Oktober die Innovation Conference 2025.

Photo credit: AHK debelux