John Prousalidis, Fabio D’Agostino
This article summarizes the current trends in the transformation of ports into multienergy hubs, where electric energy predominates (“smart portsâ€) in view of the most appealing means of decarbonization of maritime transport, i.e., by using electricity as an alternative fuel. Electrification is recognized as one of the most favorable means toward more environmentally friendly waterborne vessels, referring mainly to electric propulsion and optimized management of energy sources and loads on board.
In view of the decarbonization in all human activities, including transportation as envisaged via the Paris Convention, the International Maritime Organization and its Marine Environment Protection Committee have developed a series of resolutions in an attempt to drastically tackle climate change throughout the globe by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by ships. In particular, Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) covers mandatory technical and operational energy efficiency measures aimed at reducing GHG emissions and sets limits on sulfur oxide and nitrogen oxide. Well aligned with this framework of initiatives, the European Union (EU) has been a pioneering force in the efforts struggling against climate change by interpreting its strategic framework policy, the “European Green Deal,†via the “Fit for 55%†package (Figure 1), a set of legislative proposals and amendments to existing EU legislation to cut GHG emissions by at least 55% by 2030, compared to 1990, and become climate neutral by 2050.
Figure 1. The Fit for 55% package of draft directives. (The maritime-related directives are highlighted.)
In June 2022, the European transport ministers adopted a common position on three legislative proposals:
AFIR regulation also aims to provide alternative solutions to switch off the engines of ships moored at the quayside. The importance of this action is also well recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) within the technical resources of the EPA Ports Initiative.
In all these major endeavors, electric energy is considered to be one of the most readily available alternative fuels for the maritime sector. The foundation stone of maritime electrification is the “ship-to-shore electric interconnection†of ships at berth, also known as cold ironing (CI). According to this concept, when ships are in port, they completely shut down their engines (including their electric generators) while they are supplied by the inland national grid in which the energy mix is being decarbonized on a continuous basis. A similar measure consists of charging battery-powered electric waterborne vessels, especially referring to those of short-sea shipping applications, so that these ships have a zero environmental footprint not only at berth but also during sailing. Benefits also include noise pollution reduction.
Within this context, according to the package of draft directives Fit for 55%, the ship-to-shore interconnection will become mandatory up to 2030 for the following ship types:
• container ships
• passenger ships of any type:
One of the main challenges of this transition is represented by the high investment costs related to the CI facilities, which depend on the correct estimation of the electrical load demand. Moreover, today, there is no economic convenience to purchasing energy from the electric market rather than producing energy on board.
Therefore, the Emission Trade System has been extended, also encompassing the maritime sector, from the beginning of 2023, and the ships using conventional fuels will be subject to penalties. In addition, the use of electricity, mainly referring to ship-to-shore interconnection, will be exempted from taxes for a period of 10 years.
In view of the implementation of these policies, modern ports are going to play a key role, being transformed into smart grids and smart energy hubs able to
One of the major challenges that need to be faced in the electrified transformation of ports is the way they can operate in the open electric market; a similar question applies to ships, too. The answers to these questions can be found within the 944/2019/EU directive titled “Operating Models of Ports and Ships in the Electric Market.â€
More specifically, ships, being the end users of the electricity market chain, can be active customers (consisting mainly of consumers, but under specific circumstances, they can be producers, i.e., they are to be treated as prosumers) that can negotiate energy transactions, also being members of an aggregator and/or an energy community. Moreover, a smart port with adequate control capabilities can potentially provide services to the national grid while it offers numerous opportunities to both transmission system operators and distribution system operators.
Ports, on the other hand, can have a more complicated role as they intervene between the end users and the energy providers. A point of major importance is whether the port is to act as a close distribution network operator or not.
More specifically, the port can act as a closed distribution network operator; hence, it is fully responsible for the reliable and resilient distribution of electric energy into the zone of its jurisdiction. Thus, energy providers inject their energy into the point of common coupling of the port, which in turn dispatches it to the ships as well as other customers served at the port energy terminals. The port cannot be an energy provider or producer (hence, it cannot own or manage any power sources), at least not directly. However, another body related to the port (e.g., a subsidiary company) can be one of the energy providers, too. This can be done provided that the members of the board of this electric company are not the same executives as those of the port authority.
Alternatively, in the case of small-sized ports serving a rather limited number of ships, the port, along with the ships, can consist of an energy community. This entity (the energy community) can be engaged in all electric market activities as it can own RESs and/or storage systems as well as serve other members of this very community, namely, the ships at berth, etc.
This new role of ports, though, entails a series of technical and regulatory issues from the energy point of view. Thus, the ports in the future have to face challenges such as:
In view of these considerations, the systematic electrification of ports and their deployment as smart infrastructures can play a pivotal role in the world’s decarbonization challenge. A proper combination of technologies, resources, storage systems, and advanced management functionalities can provide the background to decarbonize both marine and industrial sectors.
“Operating models of ports and ships in the electric market,†Official Journal of the European Union, European Union, Brussels, Belgium, EU 2019/944, Jun. 2019. [Online] . Available: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32019L0944&from=EN
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 Genoa, 16145 Genoa, Italy.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MELE.2022.3233119
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