Several days ago, the Municipality of Rotterdam along with the Port of Rotterdam have began shore power trials, in order to supply small sea-going ships with electricity in the center of Rotterdam, on Parkkade. Specifically, the trials will last about five months and for this period five different systems will be tested as well.
If the trial run smoothly, the sea-going vessels will no longer need to use their diesel generators in order to generate power to use onboard, meaning it will result a reduce in the air pollution and noise. The programme’s goal is to further advance the air quality, particularly in urban areas.
Shore-based power enables us to kill two birds with one stone: cleaner air and less CO2. I’m expecting this trial to give us insight into using shore power in more locations, particularly in urban areas.
noted Arno Bonte, Alderman for air quality and sustainability.
The Port of Rotterdam further announced that through the trial, the port is making a step forward to the shore-based power.
We’re continuing to go that step further with shore-based power. This has been compulsory for inland shipping for some ten years. Stena Line in Hoek van Holland has it and we’re going to install this for Heerema at Rozenburg. In the coming decades many more vessels will need to use shore power. But the larger the vessel, the more complicated and expensive this is. So it takes time.
… as the CEO of Port of Rotterdam Allard Castelein marked.
The previously mentioned five different energy sources are the following: hydrogen, battery, bio LNG, LNG and hybrid solutions. As for their trials, responsible will be the above companies:
- ENGIE Ventures & Integrated Solutions B.V.: Hybrid system with a Big Battery Box, integrated with a motor generator on biofuel (HVO);
- PON Power & sister companies: Hybrid container with a battery combined with a generator on HVO fuel and a 20ft container with solar panels on the roof;
- Aggreko Benelux: LNG-powered Gas engine in a 20ft container;
- Mobiele Stroom BV: Bio LNG-powered turbine in a 20ft container;
- JP-Energiesystemen B.V: Hydrogen fuel cell generator combined with a small battery.
For the records, the national government via the Dutch National Collaboration Programme on Air Quality will fund the project with a sum of €500.000. After the mobile shore power trial on Parkkade there will follow a second one, scheduled in the beginning of 2020, which will tend its focus on shore power concepts for larger sea-going vessels.
