Last week, Lighthouse was inducted into Waterborne - the EU's research and innovation platform for Waterborne industries. At the same time, the Brussels-based organization presented its new strategic research agenda for the European Commission, an agenda that promises that all harmful emissions should be eliminated by 2050.

The purpose of the new strategic research agenda is to make waterborne transports in Europe safer, cleaner and more economically efficient. And it promises a lot. By 2050, all harmful emissions should be zero, while a competitive high-tech sector should have paved the way for increased digitization, smart vessels, safer and more efficient shipbuilding and port operations.

"This is very much in line with the priorities and work done in Sweden and we hope that the content of the agenda will be reflected in future initiatives," Åsa Burman, CEO of Lighthouse, says.
She was present in Brussels when the new research agenda was presented.

” Because we are now members, we can bring forward issues in Brussels that are important to us in Sweden. It also gives us the opportunity to network and create contacts internationally”.

But to reach the goals of the new strategic research agenda, shipping still has a long way to go.

"Shipping is too invisible, both with the good contributions the industry makes, and the problems you have to solve - especially with the focus on freedom of fossil fuels," Clara de la Torre, Director responsible for “Transport” in the Directorate-General for Research & Innovation at the European Commission, said at the Waterborne meeting.

Åsa Burman agrees:
- To be a competitive alternative, it must also be easier to use shipping. Ships and ports must become a much more integrated part of the transport chain.

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