The Port of Rotterdam is looking to see a significant share of sea-going vessels to ‘plug in’ to shore-based power by 2030 in a bid to further reduce the vessel’s carbon emissions while at berth.

Europe's largest seaport said over the next five years, together with its partners, Port of Rotterdam will be initiating a series of projects that are intended to accelerate and scale up the adoption of shore-based power.

“We will be setting up eight to ten shore-based power projects for a variety of sea-going vessel types. We will be doing this in partnership with companies in the port area and with the shipping companies that use our port. We will continually monitor the results of these projects to learn whether we can speed up the process or need to take a bit more time,” said Allard Castelein, CEO of Port of Rotterdam Authority.

Ships require electric power for a variety of processes on board, including lighting, running all manner of equipment as well as keeping containers with food products at the right temperature.

This power generally comes from diesel generators, which release pollutants, carbon emissions and noise. In principle, you could also hook a vessel up to the power grid onshore while it is berthed. However, this does require the ship itself, the terminal quays and the power grid to be suited to this solution.

Every year, sea-going vessels moored along Rotterdam’s quays consume as much electric power as 250,000 to 300,000 households. And in the process, they release various harmful emissions into the atmosphere, including 600,000 tonnes of CO2 and 8,000 tonnes of nitrogen.

By 2030, Rotterdam’s shore-based strategy could result in carbon savings of approximately 200,000 tonnes per year.

The objective is for 90% of these connections to be used by ships calling on the port by 2030. Rotterdam is also looking at opportunities to realise shore-based power along private quays near built-up areas.

Rotterdam said it will also construct new shore-based power capacity for ferries, Ro/Ro ships, offshore vessels and cruise liners, which should once again have a utilisation rate of 90% by 2030.

In the case of container vessels, the ambition has been set at a 50% adoption of shore-based power by large vessels (10,000+ TEU) as of 2030.

The plan will also focus on the development of innovations for special vessel categories like e.g. liquid bulk carriers, which are difficult to accommodate with the existing shore-based power facilities.

Port of Rotterdam noted that the program is expected to require a total investment of some EUR 125 million (US$146 million). The majority of this budget will be contributed by the companies involved, the Municipality and the Port Authority. Nevertheless, around EUR 50 million (US$59 million) will need to be covered by public funding.