Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), through its wholly owned Singapore-based subsidiary MOL Asia Oceania (MOLAO), will join the PIER71 Smart Port Challenge (SPC) 2025, a maritime innovation accelerator program, for the first time as an innovation partner.
Jointly founded by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and NUS Enterprise, the entrepreneurial arm of the National University of Singapore, SPC aims to provide startups with opportunities to propose solutions on logistics efficiency, decarbonization, and port digitization.
SPC 2025 will be held in Singapore for ten weeks starting in September. As an innovation partner, MOLAO intends to address various issues in the shipping industry through PIER71 and startups, in collaboration with MOL PLUS, which will participate for the fifth consecutive year.
As explained, MOLAO will work with PIER71 to offer expertise and business development support to startups and create opportunities for proof of concept (PoC) trials, and promote innovation and collaboration with startups by leveraging its network in the Asia-Oceania region.
MOL PLUS, as an investment partner, will collaborate with MOLAO to invest in startups and support their business development.
By participating in SPC 2025, MOL expects to further deepen collaboration with MPA, which was fortified with an agreement signed in November 2024, and accelerate global open innovation activities based in Singapore.
Under the memorandum of understanding (MoU), MPA and MOL vowed to collaborate on maritime decarbonization initiatives, including next-generation fuel sources, digitalization, and human resources development.