The kick-off meeting of the BlueBARGE project, focused on blue bunkering of anchored ships with renewable generated electricity, has taken place in Athens, Greece.
The main objective of the project is the design and development of an energy barge that will support the supply of electricity to moored and anchored ships.
The BlueBARGE initiative, coordinated by ABS Hellenic Single Member LTD and in which Fundación Valenciaport is actively participating, has a total budget of more than €11 million ($11.8 million), co-financed by CINEA’s Horizon Europe programme.
BlueBARGE is set to play a key role in the transformation of the maritime port sector towards the goals of electrification and decarbonisation, at the European and international level.
The barge will limit polluting emissions following a modular, scalable, adaptable and flexible design approach that will facilitate its commercialisation by 2030.
It will also address the issues of power supply integration, interconnection of the barge with ships, the port and the local power grid, as well as operational safety and regulatory compliance.
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A notable point of BlueBARGE is the introduction of a novel hybrid concept that will combine the higher energy density of lithium (Li-ion) batteries with the innovative vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) solution, which introduces increased safety and service life.
The proposal will not only serve ships at anchor, including containerships, tankers and cruise ships, but will also be able to supply power to vessels moored in spaces where Onshore Power Supply (OPS) infrastructure deployment is limited or unavailable.
In this way, it will be able to ensure the supply of energy in areas of difficult access where the supply from the port’s electricity grid is limited.
The project includes the completion of a feasibility study, the formulation of a sound operational strategy and business plan and the identification of possible sources of financing. A small-scale prototype will also be developed and tested in a real controlled environment.
In December 2023, the Port of Barcelona performed a total of 199 liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering operations to ships for a total of 143,000 cubic metres (m3).
