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April 1-3, 2025
Hilton University of Houston
Houston, TX

3 DAYS, 50 PORTS

Join your counterparts, customers, and colleagues from more than 50 seaports from the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and Central and South America in one place over three days

REGISTER NOW!

Welcome to the 2025 Port of the Future Conference!

The 2025 Port of the Future ConferenceTM is focused on creating and revitalizing our Nation’s seaports, infrastructure, and processes – across maritime, air, land, and cyber domains. This symposium addresses the urgent and emerging issues facing ports of entry, regulators, and associated industries.

This year’s Conference brings together the leaders of more than 60 seaports from the United States and Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Central and South America to Houston – offering their vast accumulated knowledge and experiences to address the port and maritime industries’ most pressing challenges, formulate viable solutions, highlight innovations, and identify best practices.

The Conference offers free registration to its speakers and to one representative from each participating port. The 2025 Port of the Future ConferenceTM is shaped by new concepts, research and innovation, advances in technology, increased dependence on automation, enhancements in data security and information sharing, and heightened environmental compliance – all impacting the ability to move cargo and people rapidly and securely across international borders.

9 IMPACTFUL TRACKS

  • Port Development
  • Port Infrastructure 4.0
  • Intermodal Connectivity
  • Decarbonization and Alternate Fuels
  • Port Energy & Sustainability
  • Carbon Capture
  • Ports in Onshore Wind Energy
  • Advances in Port Resilience Technologies
  • Port Security, Cybersecurity, and Emergency Management*
  • And other Relevant Topics

SEE THE FULL AGENDA

Hear from industry visionaries, thought leaders, government agency executives, and prominent researchers on their visions for Ports of the Future, projected trends and emerging challenges, promising research, and new, innovative technology. The Port of the Future Conference has attained a stellar record of hosting premier industry leaders and visionaries. This year’s invited speakers include:

  • Admiral Linda Fagan, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard
  • Jen Easterly, Director, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
  • Adam Tindall Schlict, Administrator, Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, U.S. Department of Transportation
  • Stephen P. Metruck, Executive Director, Port of Seattle

The 2025 Port of the Future Conference offers a dynamic and highly informative agenda. This event features keynote presentations, case studies, panel discussions, interviews, and technology demonstrations – all organized into the following nine tracks, relevant to our port and maritime industries:

  • Port Development
  • Port Infrastructure 4.0
  • Intermodal Connectivity
  • Decarbonization and Alternate Fuels
  • Port Energy & Sustainability
  • Carbon Capture
  • Ports in Onshore Wind Energy
  • Advances in Port Resilience Technologies
  • Port Security, Cybersecurity, and Emergency Management*
  • And other Relevant Topics

*The Port of the Future Conference offers reduced one-day registration for port security and emergency management personnel to attend the April 3rd track on “Port Security, Cybersecurity, and Emergency Management.”


Special Events

It’s not all work! The Port of the Future Conference offers the following special events:

  • Networking Reception (Tuesday, April 1st)
    Join our sponsors and exhibitors for a two and a half hour evening reception with drinks and hors d’oeuvres. Enjoy the music of country music recording artists Bill Mock and Karl Waitz while networking with colleagues and perusing exhibitors’ displays.

  • Student Research Poster Contest (Tuesday, April 1st)
    The Port of the Future Conference will again host its annual Student Research Poster Contest. Posters depict research done by college and university students in the port and maritime domains. This is an opportunity for undergraduate students and teams to contribute to research in the port and maritime domains, gain professional recognition and build a network of like-minded colleagues and mentors.

  • Port Houston Tour (Wednesday, April 2nd)
    Conference participants may participate in an evening tour of Port Houston aboard the M/V Sam Houston. Interested individuals may sign up for the Port Houston Tour when registering for the conference. Register and sign up. Seating is limited to 96 persons and allocated on a “first registered, first served” basis.

    Buses will depart promptly from the entrance to the Hilton’s entrance at 4:30 pm in order to arrive at Sam Houston landing by 5:00 pm for technology demonstrations prior to the 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm tour.

  • Port Endeavor Exercise (Thursday and Friday, April 3rd – 4th)
    Port representatives participate in an entertaining and educational 3-hour exercise designed to apply UN Sustainable Development Goals to a series of different challenges while operating under port budget and operations restrictions. The exercise emphasizes the World Port Sustainability Program of the International Association of Ports and Harbors. Conference participants may sign up for the Port Endeavor Exercise when registering for the Port of the Future Conference.

Partners

The Port of the Future Conference is proud of its strategic partnerships with the following organizations: