Zuidnatie terminal tests novel shore power system at Port of Antwerp-Bruges

An ocean-going vessel was connected to shore power by a battery unit at the Zuidnatie terminal in Port of Antwerp-Bruges.

PHOTO: Cargo vessel UAL Osprey connected to Zenobe's battery for shore power at the Zuidnatie terminal in Port of Antwerp-Bruges. Zuidnatie

The terminal is the “first in Belgium” to test shore power on an ocean-going vessel using a battery, claimed Belgian terminal operator Zuidnatie.

The EU's upcoming FuelEU Maritime legislation will require all passenger and container ships docked in major EU ports, such as Antwerp, to use shore power for all electricity needs by 2030. Zuidnatie, however, argued that “the necessary infrastructure to connect directly to the electricity grid is not available everywhere.”

This led Zuidnatie, ship operator UAL and UK-based startup Zenobe to launch a pilot project to test a "mobile battery" that would provide shore power.

In the first phase of the project, the cargo ship UAL Osprey was connected to shore power via a 150-kilowatt hour (kWh) battery manufactured by Zenobe. Two generators were used as backup power.

Eventually, Zuidnatie confirmed, the battery's power would be scaled up to eliminate the need for backup generators. It would then be connected directly to Zenobe’s photovoltaic grid, receiving 400 volts of power from there. A cable package will connect it to ships, it added.

Zuidnatie is a cargo handling terminal at Antwerp-Bruges port. According to its website, it accepts all ships that carry containers, including seagoing vessels and coasters as well as barges and roro vessels. In the long run, it plans to provide "this form of shore power" to all vessels calling at its terminals.

“Ports are ready to decarbonise and the technology is available today," Zenobe founder Steven Meersman said, adding that the pilot project showed batteries could support zero-emission port operations to align with EU’s Green Deal regulatory targets.

By Konica Bhatt

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