Every Saturday and on the last weekend of the month, from 14 March to 30 August 2026

Imagine a space where shipping containers become interactive modules, where environmental challenges are tackled on touchscreens or game boards, where you can handle wooden tangrams to understand energy, and where you can virtually steer ships towards clean fuels. Welcome to Ports Verts, the exhibition that transforms the green transition into a fun and immersive experience.

This exhibition allows children to play, parents to discover, and everyone to leave with a better understanding of the issues shaping our future.

Ports are at the heart of our daily lives: 90 per cent of the world’s goods are transported by sea.

Behind every object we use lies a ship, a lorry and a complex logistics network. But this power comes at a cost: greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on fossil fuels. The challenge is immense: decarbonising whilst maintaining global trade.

This is the aim of the European MAGPIE project, funded by the European Union.

Its ambition is to test practical solutions for greener, smarter and more connected ports.

HAROPA PORT, together with the Port of Rotterdam (Netherlands), the Port of Sines (Portugal) and DeltaPort (Germany), is trialling innovative technologies: hybrid locomotives, electric lorries, shore-side power for ships, and alternative fuels such as ammonia. These innovations are very real, but often invisible to the general public: ‘Ports Verts’ makes them visible, understandable… and fun.

The exhibition immerses you in a world of ports in transition, inspired by these technologies.

Each becomes an interactive experience that invites you to play, create, reflect and assess the impact of your choices.

Try to get the highest score with the hybrid locomotive… but be careful with your decisions: diesel or electric – the impacts aren’t the same. Become the master of port traffic by using the touchscreen to plan the ideal route for your green lorries. Optimise traffic flow, reduce emissions and beat the clock! You’ll also manage the port’s electrical power supply: manoeuvre a tangram to connect as many ships as possible without overloading the grid.

Add batteries, plan your moves… and rise to the challenge of zero outages! Finally, take charge of the ammonia bunkering operation. At sea, from the bunkering vessel, direct the ships, manage unforeseen events, ensure safety and carry out the refuelling. The more you refuel, the more points you score… but watch out for the risks!

These activities remind us that the green transition in ports affects us all: it impacts our lifestyles, our environment and the future of port cities. ‘Ports Verts’ is an invitation to take ownership of the transition by testing, experimenting with and imagining the port of the future, with family or friends.

Practical information: Open every Saturday of the month and on the last weekend of the month, from 14 March to 30 August 2026.

• Free entry.
• Venue: Le Havre Port Centre – Citadelle Terminal
• Further information and full programme: www.lehavreportcenter.com

About the exhibition and partners: MAGPIE (sMArt Green Ports as Integrated Efficient multimodal hubs) is a European project focused on developing, testing and demonstrating solutions for sustainable and smart port logistics. By demonstrating and implementing innovative solutions in the fields of digitalisation and automation, the project contributes to the decarbonisation of port-related transport. The project brings together 42 partners from the Netherlands, Germany, France and Portugal. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (CFP 2014–2020) under grant agreement No. 101036594. www.magpie-ports.eu

The International Association of Cities and Ports (AIVP) is the world’s leading network of cities and ports dedicated to the sustainable development of city-port relations. Since 1988, AIVP has been fostering dialogue between cities and ports through innovation, cooperation and environmentally and socially responsible practices. Further information: www.aivp.org

The ports of Le Havre, Rouen and Paris form the Greater Seine River and Sea Port. As the fourth-largest port in Northern Europe, HAROPA PORT is connected to every continent through a leading international maritime network serving over 660 ports. It serves a vast hinterland centred on the Seine Valley and the Paris region, which together form France’s largest consumer market. From Le Havre to Paris, the port complex boasts 2.5 million m² of operational logistics warehouses. HAROPA PORT now constitutes a transport and logistics system in France capable of offering a comprehensive, carbon-neutral end-to-end service. It generates annual maritime and river traffic of over 100 million tonnes, supporting around 160,000 jobs.

The Le Havre Port Centre is a venue for education, interpretation and interaction, offering visitors the chance to discover the industrial and port environment in all its diversity. Exhibitions, conferences, tours and workshops form the core of the educational programme on offer. The formats are tailored to different visitors: schoolchildren and students, professionals and members of the public. The topics are presented in an accessible manner and incorporate a cultural mix in which researchers, local stakeholders and artists share their vision of the port and its activities. It is also a unifying project for the industrial and port community, a response to the growing need for public engagement, and a tool for highlighting the economic benefits and employment potential for the region.

The Le Havre Port Centre was founded by five members: the City of Le Havre, Le Havre Seine Métropole, HAROPA PORT, the Maritime and Port Union and the Seine Estuary Chamber of Commerce and Industry.