Partnermeeting in Hamburg

11 November 2025 16:48

DigiTank Consortium Meeting in Hamburg: From the Status Quo to a Vision

The DigiTank project aims to develop and implement an innovative concept for the digital tank terminal operation of the future. In doing so, safety and environmental sustainability are to be significantly enhanced while at the same time developing human-centered solutions.

After around one year of project duration, the IHATEC project DigiTank has reached an important milestone: for the first time since the project began, the entire consortium came together for a joint meeting in Hamburg. The focus was on analyzing the current state of digitalization as well as exchanging insights on conceptual and technical progress.

Based on the work completed so far, the (interim) results of a comprehensive status quo analysis were presented from three central perspectives:

• Technical: Analysis of currently deployed systems and sensor technology

• Economic: Presentation of potential efficiency gains and improvements in safety

• Human: Assessment of current challenges as well as the expected changes in task areas and the required competencies

Particularly important were the insights gained from the interviews conducted. These clearly showed that the advancing digitalization of tank terminal infrastructure can lead to increased work intensity in certain areas. To counteract this, the project is developing a support system designed to specifically relieve employees in time-critical decision-making situations.

Considerable attention was also given to the technical advances: the emerging digital twin of the analyzed port area already represents the real environment in great detail.

The next project phases will focus on the development and architecture of the new system. Existing sensor data, current systems, and newly acquired technologies within the project—such as robotics and drones—will be interconnected. In parallel, the company’s level of digital maturity will be assessed, requirements workshops with future users will be conducted, and a training concept will be developed to adequately support the changed requirement profile from the outset.