DORTMUND: Dinalog, the Dutch Institute for Advanced Logistics and EffizienzCluster LogistikRuhr, a research and innovation cluster, have signed an MoU to expand their existing partnership.

The signing at the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics in Dortmund coincided with a visit by the King of the Netherlands King Willem-Alexander (standing third from right) and Queen Maximá.

The objective of the Royal visit was to promote "mutual trade relations and cooperation in fields such as sustainable energy, the creative industry, innovation, the labor market and education," according to Dinalog.

Dinalog and EffizienzCluster have already worked together on several EU research projects and have developed a joint roadmap within the scope of the European technology platform ETP ALICE.

''With this MoU, we provide our bilateral activities with scope for the future'', said Thorsten Hülsmann, managing director of EffizienzCluster Management. "Our objective is to reinforce high-tech industry logistics internationally and to position it globally as an integrated solution provider."

The two logistics clusters are going to concentrate on developing the use of modern information and communication technologies in logistics, intelligent logistics systems, synchromodality in the transport of goods and in urban logistics.

''Closer collaboration between the Netherlands and North Rhine-Westphalia is of strategic importance as the gateway to Europe," added Henk Zijm, scientific director at Dinalog. "And if we want to establish a future-oriented modern and sustainable logistics sector, it is of paramount importance that we bundle our strengths and stimulate innovation in research and development."

EffizienzCluster LogistikRuhr is supported by 160 companies and 12 academic institutions. Dinalog includes 300 representatives from industry, logistics companies, research institutes and government.