2 minute read
Green Goals
IN PURSUIT OF GREEN GOALS
The UK Port of Tyne has a multi-component and multi-phase comprehensive agenda to effi ciently achieve highly benefi cial green goals. Felicity Landon explains
The Port of Tyne has set a target to be Carbon Net Zero by 2030 and an all-electric port by 2040. Setting out its Green Port Strategy at Coastlink 2022, Eleni Bougioukou, Innovation Manager – Energy, described the Tyne’s transformational journey to be a centre of excellence for clean energy, digitalisation, decarbonisation and innovation.
She explained how scenario planning and feasibility studies, to help determine future power needs, were carried out in partnership with Siemens.
This work provided a blueprint for the transition to Net Zero, based on an understanding of the port’s current and forecast power usage, a digital twin to allow visualisation, and analysis of energy consumption and business case planning to support the prioritisation of energy projects to ensure maximum ROI and environmental benefits.
The port’s green agenda includes electrification of harbour cranes, quayside plant and machinery, the purchase of two new hybrid cranes, replacement of diesel vans with EVs, installation of smart meters and LED smart lighting, solar panels on warehouse roofing, small and large-scale wind turbines, a DEOP (distributed energy optimisation) digital platform, and the adoption of sustainable fuels, with an HVO fuel trial.
MARITIME INNOVATION HUB
The Port of Tyne has been working collaboratively with other ports in its Maritime Innovation Hub, which was opened at South Shields in July 2019. The first and only Maritime Innovation Hub in the UK, it is a partnership between the Port of Tyne, Connected Places Catapult, Nissan, UbiSoft, Accenture, Nissan, Royal HaskoningDHV, Drax, Offshore Renewables Catapult and the Department for Transport.
The hub was set up to inspire collaboration between partners, to develop solutions to technology challenges in the maritime and wider logistics industry.
Later in 2019, the port launched its Tyne 2050 programme – its own 30-year strategy in line with the UK’s Maritime 2050 vision. This encompasses 28 projects across environment, financial sustainability, health & safety, innovation and technology, communities, customers, people, and security & resilience.
Alongside these projects, the Tyne Clean Energy Park covers 200 acres of development land and is the North East UK’s most versatile clean energy park, claimed Bougioukou. It provides a co-location option for the renewables sector with unrestricted marine access and opportunities for manufacturing, installation and O&M operations.
Equinor selected the Port of Tyne for its flagship operations and maintenance base for its Dogger Bank wind farm, the largest in the world, reflecting the port’s ambition to be a “partner for the new green revolution”, Bougioukou noted.
Clearly the two “Ds” go hand in hand, and a digitalised and decarbonised port transition roadmap created by the port in partnership with Siemens and others reflects this.
The Tyne’s Smart Port Strategy encompasses steps such as installation of a private 5G network, adoption of a portwide data strategy, digital upskilling of employees, and digitisation of workflows and processes.
The aim is to establish the Tyne as a 5G testbed, attracting technology companies to test their products and implement leading-edge technology, while also supporting existing customers.
Bougioukou, said potential 5G uses were autonomous land and water vehicles, remote-controlled quayside plant and machinery, remote pilotage, collection of real-time productivity data via IoT sensors. Other examples include tracking plant, vehicles, cargo and personnel, enabling virtual and augmented reality, carrying out environmental monitoring, and providing health & safety monitoring and alerts.
8 The Port of Tyne,
