DELFT, the Netherlands: December 20, 2016. ABN AMRO, Delft University and 14 other partners have formed a 'TKI Dinalog' cooperative to apply blockchain technology to the logistics industry for the first time.

The technology, which is the main innovation behind Bitcoin, utilizes an open network of databases and functions as a public, digital and distributed ledger.

In addition to ABN AMRO and Delft University, the other participants are the Port of Rotterdam, Windesheim, the SCF Community, TNO, Centric, Exact, SmartPort, Royal FloraHolland, FB Basic, Cirmar, BeSCOPE Solutions, NBK, Innopay and Transfollow.

The project is an initiative of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and is part of a broader effort to set up a Netherlands Blockchain Centre of Excellence.

According to ABN AMRO, the group's objectives will be to construct the infrastructure so blockchain technology can be applied to logistics and then tested in real transactions.

Bank program manager Supply Chain Finance Martijn Siebrand explained: "We are applying block chain technology to the financial routes in logistics. But that's just the start. I can see this development culminate in the logistics sector of the future, more coherent and smooth all across the chain."

Over the next two years the 16 partners will be designing, developing, and implementing a new information infrastructure rooted in blockchain technology that connects operational information, financial flows and contracts.

Project leader and Delft University associate professor Johan Pouwelse added the group would be applying the technology to three "real world" environments: supply chain finance, inventory finance and the circular economy.