February 2023: Portsmouth International Port was awarded £19.8m by the UK Government allowing them to embark of a decarbonisation project with Brittany Ferries, with the support from a consortium of academics, marine specialists and technology SMEs.
This grant was part of the Zero Emissions Vessels and Infrastructure competition (ZEVI), which was announced in February 2023. Project Sea Change will design, build and operate a ‘shore power’ system across the three busiest berths at Portsmouth, allowing visiting ferry or cruise ships to ‘plug-in’ and use green electricity to run their onboard systems. Furthermore, Brittany Ferries is introducing two new LNG-electric hybrid ferries from 2025, which run on a combination for cleaner liquified natural gas (LNG) and battery power.
With the availability of shore power at the port they will be able to charge their barriers and run on battery power when manoeuvring through Portsmouth harbour improving air quality and supporting the industry-wide shift to zero-emission shipping. Overall, it is estimated that this new system will save over 20,000 tonnes of CO2e per annum from 2027. This is equivalent to the annual carbon footprint of around 2,500 UK households and reaffirms Portsmouth International Ports commitment to reduce the impact of operations on neighbouring communities and assist with the wider city’s ambition to be net carbon neutral by 2030.
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