Satakunta University of Applied Sciences (SAMK) has worked on various projects in the Baltic Sea region in order to make this area more climate friendly and also to make boating and sailing more eco-friendly.

SAMK is leading CBSmallPorts project at the moment, with the intention of focusing on energy efficiency of the small ports of Central Baltic (CB) area. This project is making new energy efficiency investments in the small ports of Finland (including Åland), Sweden, Estonia and Latvia. Altogether, CBSmallPorts project has been making investments in 15 small ports in Finland, Sweden and Estonia.

The project’s investments have been divided into 6 periods starting from March 2020 and it is scheduled to be done until November 2022 which is the final reporting deadline of the project.

New installed concrete pontoon guest pier in Airisto Marina. Teemu Heikkinen.

CBSmallPorts approach to energy efficiency

CBSmallPorts is making investments in the small ports of the Central Baltic Sea region to improve energy supply to be used efficiently by boaters and small ports owners and it aims to improve energy efficiency by using green technologies which lead to less CO2 emissions.

One of the main fixed costs of the small ports is electricity. Therefore, managing the efficient use of electricity has been the CBSmallPorts project’s center of focus. In order to approach energy efficiency management, the project has done many climate-friendly investments to produce eco-friendly energy such as installing solar panels and to save energy by making different investments such as installing LED lightings in the small ports and there are many environmentally friendly investments still ongoing.

What investments have been done?

Generally, there has been a variety of energy efficiency investments in different small ports in the CB area depending on the ports’ atmosphere and their needs.

Making new piers in some small ports including Dirhami located in Estonia, is a part of CBSmallPorts investments. The idea is that by installing solar panels in the mentioned port, a part of the needed electricity used in the piers will be provided in more energy efficient and sustainable ways.

As it is mentioned, to improve energy efficiency and save energy, the project has provided some small ports with LED light stands, solar light systems, cost effective lighting and smart lighting. Also, the installation process is still ongoing in other small ports which need the mentioned investments.

CBSmallPorts has made major renovations in a few small ports including renovations of two saunas in Seili small port located in municipality of Pargas, Finland. The project’s team has replaced the old wood burning stoves with new and more energy efficient electric ones and one of the saunas has received major renovation where also the walls and the floors were renovated in order to decrease the energy losses. Also, the wastewater of the sauna is now treated in proper wastewater purification plant.

Renovated sauna in Seili small port. Teemu Heikkinen.

To mention the main investments made by CBSmallPorts project in different small ports which are either completely done or they will be completed during the project, LED light stands have been installed in Lennusadam, Estonia, a wind generator in Lõunaranna small port, Estonia, new heat pump based heating system in Kalev yacht club small port, Estonia ongoing installation of solar panels in Roograhu, Estonia, ongoing installation of smart lighting for harbor facilities in Kärdla, Orjaku and Sõru Marinas located in Estonia, walking decks at piers (iron frames / wooden deck maintenance, recast surface of one pier) in Bläse Kalkbruk small port, Sweden, solar energy and lighting as well as water system in Klacksörarna, Sweden, modernized power line and transferred line from air to the underground and to sea bottom across a bay in Keihässalmi small port, Finland, installation of piers and ongoing installation of solar panels in Airisto Marina, Finland, solar power plant and LED lighting services in Sapokka, Kotka, Finland and guest harbor area LED lighting in Tervasaari, Finland.

Part of the renewed walking decks in Bläse Kalkbruk. Leif Ortman.

Service stands installed in Lennusadam, Estonia. Lauri Väinsalu.

Overall, as a summary of what small ports CBSmallPorts project has been working on, the project is investing in 15 different small ports which some of the investments are still ongoing. The small ports are:

• Seili located in Turku, Finland. The investments are complete.
• Airisto located in Turku, Finland. The investments are ongoing.
• Sapokka, Keihässalmi and Tervasaari, all located in South-Eastern Finland. The investments are ongoing.
• Bläse Kalkbruk located in Gotland, Sweden. The investments are complete.
• Klacksörarna located in Söderhamn, Sweden. The investments are ongoing.
• Dirhami, Lennusadam, Lounaranna, Roograhu, Kalev all located in Estonia. The investments are ongoing.
• Kärdla, Orjaku and Soru, all located in Hiiumaa, Estonia. The investments are ongoing.

New ways of cooperating during the pandemic

CBSmallPorts’ project partners were supposed to share their knowledge and experiences during the process of energy efficiency investments and marketing. They had planned to involve each other in planning, decision makings, investments, installations and basically the whole process.

Due to the Covid-19 and the restrictions, this idea was not realized, and the partners were not able to have enough physical meetings and interactions. Also, it caused some delays in component deliveries of e.g., semiconductor components that are used in PV systems i.e., in solar panels. So, the team had to adapt to the new ways of cooperation to advance the investments of the project.

All partners in CBSmallPorts did their best in using online tools to communicate and advance the project and investments. In order to develop the project, they used new ways and gained new skills and experiences which will be useful in the future.

Report on investments

To have a better picture of the investments of the project, CBSmallPorts team has gathered the detail of all the investments and practical works done implementing them to a separate document which will be published during the autumn 2021. The document will be a report on practical work done within investing small ports and best practices for energy efficiency for small ports with investments (technical specifications, tendering, new technologies to use). Through the report, port developers can get a good idea of what kind of investments were done in different small ports, how the procedures went and what were the costs. The report will also present some lessons learned during the investment process.

Text: Sina Khabbazi, Teemu Heikkinen, Hanna Rissanen, Alberto Lanzanova

Project SME Aisle organized its second business delegation trip for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in April 2019. During the two weeks of travelling, the team and the companies visited Namibia, South Africa and Zambia. Altogether 31 companies from Finland, Sweden, Estonia and Latvia participated in the trip.

[The article in Finnish: Jos haluat lukea suomenkielisen version, vieritä juttua alaspäin.]

These companies represented following sectors: maritime and logistics, automation, ICT and renewable energy. The delegation trip was the biggest of its kind in the project until now.

SMEAisle_DelegationApril_SummaryPoster — Our delegation trip to Namibia, South Africa and Zambia.

It has only been a year since the project began, but remarkable results have already been achieved among SME Aisle SMEs. Some of the SMEs have proceeded to sales as some are still searching for their ideal partner. In addition, the business delegation trips have created cooperation between the participating Central Baltic companies as well as friendships. What kinds of solutions are the companies offering to the Southern African markets and what were the results of the delegation trip? These themes will be discussed in this blog.

Namibia: first sales and auditorium full of interested participants

Auditorium full of participants interested in SME Aisle in a business workshop in Windhoek Namibia.

For SAMK, the lead partner of the project, Namibia is a familiar place for business activities. SAMK has years of experience in working with Namibians and due to its geographical position, Namibia is in the focal point for trade activities. Thanks to years of cooperation, the project staff has wide networks in the country and it is possible to find potential partners for cooperation.

During the trip in Namibia, the companies got familiar with presenting their products and services in a new business environment and met interested local companies and actors. The first business workshop of the delegation trip was organized in cooperation with the Embassy of Finland and as a result, the auditorium was filled with interested participants. In addition, SME Aisle organized a workshop in Walvis Bay in cooperation with NAMPORT.

In Namibia, the success stories in our project so far include for example solar panels, virtual tourism and automation technology to improve efficiency at the ports.

South Africa: getting to know local maritime training and smart housing

SME Aisle organized a workshop and brought together stakeholders at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.

In Cape Town the project organized a workshop together with the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Afterwards, the companies got a chance to learn about local maritime training at the university and at the local port. The companies also visited a smart house by the Finnish company Honkatalot. The smart house is designed to use less energy by using special building materials and methods. This housing project is a good demonstration of a building project actualized solely without external funding.

South Africa is one of the biggest and developed markets in Africa.

Among the solutions provided by the SME Aisle companies, interest has been showed especially towards ship design, port operations enhancing technology, and broadband availability. South Africa is one of the biggest and developed markets in Africa and thus, competition is hard in many sectors.

Zambia: Possibilities in agriculture, ICT and renewable energy

We arrived in Lusaka at six in the evening, but the darkness surrounding us was surprising. Zambia is a developing country in which infrastructure is expanding in full speed nevertheless. People are welcoming and warm. However, climate change affects the income generation of many, especially in the agricultural sector which is the biggest sector in the country. For example, climate change affects cultivation through increased periods of drought.

During our delegation trip, the Embassy of Finland in Lusaka organized a Finnish Business Week in Zambia. We participated in different seminars, workshops and company visits. One of the main events was the local Agritech Fair in Chisamba, approximately 70 kilometers from Lusaka, in which our project staff visited for two days. Even the president of Zambia honored the event by visiting the Agritech Fair.

H.E. President of Zambia Edgar Lungu visited the Agritech Fair and Nordic Pavilion. SME Aisle company presenting their products to the president.

China’s influence in Zambia is remarkable and in Lusaka one may witness several different construction projects led by China. In some sectors competition may thus be hard, partly impossible. Of the products and services offered by SME Aisle companies, especially ICT technology reducing the use of water in cultivation, a new kind of fertilizer in cultivation, solar panels, mobile phones and construction raised especially interest among stakeholders.

Lessons learned to date and next steps

The trip proved that business in the target market requires in-depth information and the right contacts. If the company fails to map the target market carefully, it might face some surprising challenges including problems in import regulations and tendering. Coaching is an important aspect when building the export readiness of the companies. This coaching will be the next step of the SME Aisle project. Coaching includes getting to know the business environment, finding the right business contacts and introducing themes especially requested by the companies such as interpretation services.

Text and photos by: Nina Savela

Ensimmäiset menestystarinat viennissä: pk-yritykset aktiivisia eteläisen Afrikan markkinoilla

Projektimme SME Aisle järjesti toisen pienille ja keskisuurille yrityksille suunnatun delegaatiomatkan huhtikuussa 2019. Kahden viikon aikana matkustimme Namibiaan, Etelä-Afrikkaan ja Sambiaan. Yhteensä 31 yritystä Suomesta, Ruotsista, Virosta ja Latviasta osallistui matkalle. Yritykset edustivat merenkulkua ja logistiikkaa, automaatiota, ICT:tä ja uusiutuvaa energiaa. Delegaatiomatka oli projektin mittavin tähän asti.

[Yhteenveto julistekuvassa heti englanninkielisen jutun alussa]

Projektin alkamisesta on kulunut ainoastaan vuosi, mutta siinä on jo saavutettu merkittäviä tuloksia. Osa projektin yrityksistä on edennyt toivottuihin kauppoihin nopealla aikataululla, osa etsii vielä ideaalikumppania liiketoimilleen. Lisäksi sivujuonteena matka on poikinut yhteistyötä yritysten välillä sekä ystävyyksiä. Millaisia ratkaisuja hankkeen yritykset tarjoavat kohdemarkkinoille ja mikä oli matkan anti? Siitä kerromme seuraavaksi.

Namibia: ensimmäisiä kauppoja ja auditorio täynnä kiinnostuneita

[Kuva: Auditorion täydeltä kiinnostusta SME Aisle -hankkeen seminaarissa Windhoekissa, Namibiassa.]

SAMKilla, hankkeen vetäjällä, on useiden vuosien kokemus Namibiasta ja maa on projektimme keskiössä. Namibiassa löytyykin useamman vuoden pohjatyön ansiosta laajat verkostot sekä halukkuutta yhteistyöhön. Matkalla Namibiassa yritykset totuttelivat tuotteidensa esittelyyn uudessa liiketoimintaympäristössä sekä tapasivat kiinnostuneita paikallisia yrityksiä ja toimijoita. Seminaari yhteistyössä Suomen suurlähetystön kanssa poiki auditorion täpötäyteen kiinnostuneita. Lisäksi projekti järjesti Walvis Bayssa seminaarin yhteistyössä NAMPORT:in kanssa.

Namibiassa projektimme yritysten menestystarinoihin kuuluvat tällä hetkellä muun muassa aurinkopaneelit, virtuaalimatkailu sekä automaatioteknologia satamien tehostamiseksi.

Etelä-Afrikka: tutustuminen paikallisen merenkulun koulutukseen ja älykkääseen rakentamiseen

[Kuva: Kapkaupungissa teknillisessä yliopistossa SME Aisle järjesti seminaarin ja toi yhteistyötahoja yhteen.]

Kapkaupungissa projekti järjesti seminaarin paikallisessa Cape Peninsulan teknillisessä yliopistossa. Tämän jälkeen yritykset saivat tutustua merenkulun koulutukseen yliopistolla ja Kapkaupungin satamassa. Yritykset pääsivät myös vierailemaan suomalaisen Honkatalot Oy:n älytalossa. Älytalon ajatuksena on vähentää energiankulutusta asumisessa käyttämällä erityisiä rakennusmateriaaleja sekä rakennustekniikoita. Rakennusprojekti on hyvä esimerkki täysin ilman valtion tukea rahoitetusta projektista.

[Kuva: Etelä-Afrikka on maanosan suurimpia ja kehittyneimpiä markkina-alueita Afrikassa.]

SME Aisle -hankkeen yritysten tarjoamista ratkaisuista kiinnostusta herättivät erityisesti ratkaisut liittyen laivasuunniteluun, tehokkaisiin satamaoperaatioihin sekä laajakaistan saatavuuteen. Etelä-Afrikka edustaa Afrikan kehittyneimpiä ja suurimpia markkinoita, joten kilpailu on kovaa monella sektorilla.

Sambia: mahdollisuuksia maatalouden ratkaisuissa, ICT:ssä ja uusiutuvassa energiassa

Saavuimme Lusakaan illalla kello kuuden aikaan, mutta pimeys yllätti meidät silti. Sambia on edelleen kehittyvä maa, jossa infrastruktuurin kehityksessä otetaan edistysaskelia kovaa vauhtia. Ihmiset ovat lisäksi vastaanottavaisia ja hyväntuulisia. Ilmastonmuutos kuitenkin näkyy useamman paikallisen elinkeinossa, kuten maataloussektorilla, joka on maan suurimpia sektoreita. Ilmastonmuutos vaikuttaa viljelyyn muun muassa lisääntyneenä kuivuutena.

Delegaatiomatkamme aikoihin Suomen suurlähetystö järjesti suomalaisen liiketoiminnan viikon Sambiassa. Osallistumme erilaisiin seminaareihin, työpajoihin sekä yritysvierailuihin. Paikalliset maatalousmessut (Agritech expo) ovat suuri tapahtuma Chisambassa, noin 70 kilometrin päässä Lusakasta. Projektimme osallistui näille messuille kahtena päivänä. Saimme esimerkiksi vieraaksi maan presidentin.

[Kuva: Samibian presidentti Edgar Lungu vieraili maatalousmessuilla pohjoismaisella yhteisosastolla. SME Aisle -hankkeessa mukana oleva yritys esittelee tuotteitaan.]

Kiinan vaikutus maassa on merkittävä ja Lusakassakin on nähtävissä erilaisia Kiinan vetämiä rakennushankkeita. Joillakin sektoreilla kilpailu on täten kovaa, osittain jopa mahdottoman kovaa. Yritystemme tuotteista ja palveluista kiinnostusta Sambiassa herättivät varsinkin ICT-teknologian käyttö maanviljelyssä resurssien kulutuksen pienentämiseksi, uudenlainen lannoite maanviljelyssä, aurinkopaneelit, matkapuhelimet sekä rakentaminen.

Projektin ja delegaatiomatkan opetukset tähän saakka ja seuraavat askeleet

Viimeistään matkan aikana tuli selväksi, että liiketoiminta kohdemarkkinoilla vaatii perusteelliset tiedot kohdemaasta sekä täysin oikeat kontaktit. Mikäli yritys ei ole kartoittanut kohdemarkkinoita huolella, voi se kohdata yllättäviä ongelmia esimerkiksi maahantuontiin liittyvässä lainsäädännössä ja kilpailutuksessa. Oleellista on myös yritysten valmentaminen, joka onkin projektimme seuraava vaihe. Valmentamiseen kuuluu perehdyttäminen liiketoimintaympäristöön, oikeiden kontaktien luonti ja myös muu yritysten toivoma tuki, kuten tulkkaus.

Katso lisää tietoa SME Aisle -projektista ja ajankohtaisista tapahtumistamme (englanniksi)

Teksti ja kuvat: Nina Savela

Avainsana: Central Baltic

CBSmallports project: energy efficient investments in the small ports of the Central Baltic region