Ports of Stockholm, in collaboration with many other ports and stakeholders, has received approval to apply for EU funding for three sustainability initiatives.
The major focus of the projects is the development of the electricity infrastructure. This will reportedly support the transition to greener shipping by lowering quayside air particle emissions.
Government approval has been given for all three applications from Ports of Stockholm, in collaboration with other ports, to be submitted to the EU Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) to apply for grant funding.
The goals include augmenting the electricity infrastructure by increasing onshore power connections at Ports of Stockholm and other ports. This is intended to ensure the transition to more sustainable shipping with minimal quayside air particle emissions.
The development of onshore power connections for container and passenger ships in core ports is one of the 2030 targets of the EU climate goals and “Fit for 55” conversion to a greener shipping policy.
If the projects are awarded EU funding, they will run between 2024 and 2025, or until 2026 at the latest.
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“Together with other ports and stakeholders, we want to enable the rapid and safe expansion of onshore power connections for vessels at the quayside throughout the entire Baltic Sea region,” said Jens Holm, Chair of the Board of Ports of Stockholm.
“This positive decision from the Swedish Government shows the increased electrification of the transport sector, with a focus on shipping, is a prioritised area. This expansion will result in a greater ability to meet our own and the EU environmental goals.”
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“National and international collaborations with other ports and stakeholders in these types of projects are important factors for future success in achieving environmentally beneficial results for port operations and shipping in general,” explained Lotta Andersson, Public Affairs and EU Coordinator.
“We see an obvious added value in using external funding in the form of EU grants to be able to accelerate our environmental initiatives, in this case our proposals for onshore power connections at the quayside.”
The initiatives in the applications include:
- Shore-side electricity supply for containerships in Core Network Ports of the North and Baltic Sea.
- Baltic Ports for Climate – onshore power supply pre-investment phase.
- Upgrade of the Motorways of the Sea (MOS) connection Stockholm-Riga.
In July 2023, Stockholm Norvik Port renamed two of its two container cranes after Swedish royalty.
