John Prousalidis, Fabio D’Agostino
The electrification of ports and their transformation into smart energy infrastructures represent one of the most promising solutions toward the decarbonization of the maritime industry. With the ship-to-shore interconnection (cold ironing) being one of the key features to remove local air pollution, the integration of distributed energy resources within the port distribution network drastically enhances the complexity of the framework. In this new scenario, decision making and control are distributed, and a new combination of technologies and advanced management functionalities needs to be exploited. Concentrating on the smart energy transformation of ports, this special issue aims to cover most, if not all, of the most novel challenges raised.
Thus, in the “Technology Leaders†column, in “How the Vision of a Distribution System Operator Encompasses the Green Energy Transformation of Ports,†the first insight is given by Anastasios Manos, the CEO of HEDNO, the Hellenic distribution system operator (DSO), who highlights the emerging role of the DSO in meeting the port power demands via modern distribution networks. The first feature article, Holistic Energy Transformation of Ports—The Proteus Plan, from Dimitrios V. Lyridis and coauthors, introduces a holistic approach toward the transformation of ports into smart and sustainable infrastructures, the so-called Proteus Plan, covering a plethora of measures besides port electrification, such as the implementation of smart grid technologies and market operating models. The second article, “Standardization of Utility Connections in Ports—Cold Ironing of Ships in Ports, is by Thomas Høven, convener of the IEC/ISO/IEEE Joint Working Group 28 developing the IEC/ISO/IEEE 80005 series of standards, who proposes a thorough analysis of the shore connection, with a special focus on standardization and on the commercial and technical challenges with utility connections in port. In the third article, “Addressing Ship Emissions at Berth: Onshore Power Supply Where It Makes Sense,†Valter Selén, from the European Sea Port Organization (ESPO), illustrates the current status and the challenges related to the deployment of the Onshore Power Supply (OPS) in European ports, also highlighting how a goal-based legal framework would ensure the effective deployment of OPS to maximize emission reductions.
The variety of electrical components that can be deployed within a port, so that the smart grid becomes a reality, is addressed by Fotios Kanellos and coauthors in the fourth article, Toward Smart Green Seaports, where the energy storage and the optimal operation capabilities are introduced and discussed. The fifth article, Rethinking Ports as Multienergy Hubs: Managing Cold Ironing and Hydrogen Supply/Bunkering, by Francesco Conte and coauthors, discusses the main issues related to the optimal management of ports employed as multienergy hubs, where both the hydrogen and the electric energy vectors are exploited to supply ports and shiploads. In the sixth article, Cold Ironing Integration in City Port Distribution Grids, Daniele Bosich and coauthors showcase how port electrification can be blended in the grid expansion plan of a nearby urban area (city) with the port of Trieste, with a special focus on the analysis of the most demanding loads.
The seventh article, Digitalization for Port Decarbonization, by Ilias Sarantakos and coauthors, argues for the benefits of digitalization as a means of decarbonization in the case study of an inland port, that of the River Tyne in the United Kingdom, including modeling performed around specific operational scenarios. Finally, in the eighth article, How to plug in the fishing fleet: Connectors in Charging Infrastructure for Small Fishing Boats, Eirill Bachmann Mehammer and coauthors provide a thorough review of the infrastructure; the existing market solutions; and the standards currently available for the electrical charging of small fishing vessels, mainly located on the Norwegian coast. The “Viewpoint†column, “Looking Toward the Energy-Sustainable Smart Port: A Resilient Energy Hub in the Electric Grids,†by the guest editors, summarizes the achievements and the challenges toward the definition of a new concept of a port: a resilient and sustainable energy hub in the electric grid.
John Prousalidis (jprousal@naval.ntua.gr) is a professor at the National Technical University of Athens, 15780 Athens, Greece.
Fabio D’Agostino (fabio.dagostino@unige.it) is an assistant professor at the University of Genova, 16145 Genova, Italy.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MELE.2022.3232921
2325-5897/23©2023IEEE