Energy flows and potential energy development strategies in RoRo ports: A study based on the Port of Trelleborg
(2023) MVKM05 20231Department of Energy Sciences
- Abstract
- The recent push for decarbonization in the maritime sector presents an opportunity for ports to strengthen their position as energy hubs. This work studies the existing energy flows in the Port of Trelleborg, one of Europe's biggest roll-on, roll-off ports, and proposes some energy-related development strategies. The current energy flows directly concerning the port are for the most part electricity and fuel used in the port's rolling equipment, with a smaller energy flow in the wastewater collected from the ferries. The electricity is currently mostly used to power the port's buildings, lighting and equipment, with a smaller portion dedicated to shore-to-ship power. The latter is however predicted to increase significantly as... (More)
- The recent push for decarbonization in the maritime sector presents an opportunity for ports to strengthen their position as energy hubs. This work studies the existing energy flows in the Port of Trelleborg, one of Europe's biggest roll-on, roll-off ports, and proposes some energy-related development strategies. The current energy flows directly concerning the port are for the most part electricity and fuel used in the port's rolling equipment, with a smaller energy flow in the wastewater collected from the ferries. The electricity is currently mostly used to power the port's buildings, lighting and equipment, with a smaller portion dedicated to shore-to-ship power. The latter is however predicted to increase significantly as environmental regulations get stricter. It is also possible to use auxiliary data to deduce that there are significant flows of fossil fuel sold to trucks passing through the port, as well as used to bunker ships. While not currently directly tied to the port, these energy flows should be monitored as they are likely to evolve in the near future as alternative fuels get adopted in both the road and maritime transport industry.
Multiple development strategies were analyzed throughout this paper. For emissions reduction, the conversion of the port's rolling equipment to electric power was deemed the most promising, whether in the form of battery electric or fuel cell vehicles. However, this would require a significant investment in the infrastructure to support the new propulsion methods. On-site power generation opportunities have been found to be plentiful and promising. Techno-economic analysis of both photovoltaic and wind power installations netted staggeringly positive results. The electricity produced by these installations has the potential to be used to cover the port's own needs, with the surplus being sold to the grid or used to produce fuels on-site such as hydrogen. Hydrogen production via electrolysis was studied and proved potentially profitable, though contingent on market interest. A tri-generation fuel cell solution producing electricity, hydrogen and heat from biogas was also analyzed for the port, as its output ratios are well matched to the port's interests and would greatly increase the port's energy resilience. The study showed that such a solution would likely need external gas sources other than the port's production from wastewater, as the volume from the latter couldn't support it. Due to this, the profitability of the solution was highly dependent on the price of gas. Finally, wave generation was briefly looked at. While not ideal in the Port of Trelleborg due to the low energy nature of the local sea, the technology might prove useful in other ports thanks to its good base load generation potential. (Less) - Popular Abstract
- The recent push for decarbonization in the maritime sector presents an opportunity for ports to strengthen their position as energy hubs. This work studies the existing energy flows in the Port of Trelleborg, one of Europe's biggest roll-on, roll-off ports, and proposes some energy-related development strategies. The current energy flows directly concerning the port are for the most part electricity and fuel used in the port's rolling equipment, with a smaller energy flow in the wastewater collected from the ferries. The electricity is currently mostly used to power the port's buildings, lighting and equipment, with a smaller portion dedicated to shore-to-ship power. The latter is however predicted to increase significantly as... (More)
- The recent push for decarbonization in the maritime sector presents an opportunity for ports to strengthen their position as energy hubs. This work studies the existing energy flows in the Port of Trelleborg, one of Europe's biggest roll-on, roll-off ports, and proposes some energy-related development strategies. The current energy flows directly concerning the port are for the most part electricity and fuel used in the port's rolling equipment, with a smaller energy flow in the wastewater collected from the ferries. The electricity is currently mostly used to power the port's buildings, lighting and equipment, with a smaller portion dedicated to shore-to-ship power. The latter is however predicted to increase significantly as environmental regulations get stricter. It is also possible to use auxiliary data to deduce that there are significant flows of fossil fuel sold to trucks passing through the port, as well as used to bunker ships. While not currently directly tied to the port, these energy flows should be monitored as they are likely to evolve in the near future as alternative fuels get adopted in both the road and maritime transport industry.
Multiple development strategies were analyzed throughout this paper. For emissions reduction, the conversion of the port's rolling equipment to electric power was deemed the most promising, whether in the form of battery electric or fuel cell vehicles. However, this would require a significant investment in the infrastructure to support the new propulsion methods. On-site power generation opportunities have been found to be plentiful and promising. Techno-economic analysis of both photovoltaic and wind power installations netted staggeringly positive results. The electricity produced by these installations has the potential to be used to cover the port's own needs, with the surplus being sold to the grid or used to produce fuels on-site such as hydrogen. Hydrogen production via electrolysis was studied and proved potentially profitable, though contingent on market interest. A tri-generation fuel cell solution producing electricity, hydrogen and heat from biogas was also analyzed for the port, as its output ratios are well matched to the port's interests and would greatly increase the port's energy resilience. The study showed that such a solution would likely need external gas sources other than the port's production from wastewater, as the volume from the latter couldn't support it. Due to this, the profitability of the solution was highly dependent on the price of gas. Finally, wave generation was briefly looked at. While not ideal in the Port of Trelleborg due to the low energy nature of the local sea, the technology might prove useful in other ports thanks to its good base load generation potential. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9119015
- author
- Gonzales, Gabriele LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- MVKM05 20231
- year
- 2023
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- RoRo Ports, Energy Flows, Energy Development, Energy Strategies, Renewable Energy, Ports, Energy Hub, Energy Storage, Hydrogen
- report number
- LUTMDN/TMHP-23/5527-SE
- ISSN
- 0282-1990
- language
- English
- id
- 9119015
- date added to LUP
- 2023-06-07 09:38:44
- date last changed
- 2023-06-07 09:38:44
@misc{9119015,
abstract = {{The recent push for decarbonization in the maritime sector presents an opportunity for ports to strengthen their position as energy hubs. This work studies the existing energy flows in the Port of Trelleborg, one of Europe's biggest roll-on, roll-off ports, and proposes some energy-related development strategies. The current energy flows directly concerning the port are for the most part electricity and fuel used in the port's rolling equipment, with a smaller energy flow in the wastewater collected from the ferries. The electricity is currently mostly used to power the port's buildings, lighting and equipment, with a smaller portion dedicated to shore-to-ship power. The latter is however predicted to increase significantly as environmental regulations get stricter. It is also possible to use auxiliary data to deduce that there are significant flows of fossil fuel sold to trucks passing through the port, as well as used to bunker ships. While not currently directly tied to the port, these energy flows should be monitored as they are likely to evolve in the near future as alternative fuels get adopted in both the road and maritime transport industry.
Multiple development strategies were analyzed throughout this paper. For emissions reduction, the conversion of the port's rolling equipment to electric power was deemed the most promising, whether in the form of battery electric or fuel cell vehicles. However, this would require a significant investment in the infrastructure to support the new propulsion methods. On-site power generation opportunities have been found to be plentiful and promising. Techno-economic analysis of both photovoltaic and wind power installations netted staggeringly positive results. The electricity produced by these installations has the potential to be used to cover the port's own needs, with the surplus being sold to the grid or used to produce fuels on-site such as hydrogen. Hydrogen production via electrolysis was studied and proved potentially profitable, though contingent on market interest. A tri-generation fuel cell solution producing electricity, hydrogen and heat from biogas was also analyzed for the port, as its output ratios are well matched to the port's interests and would greatly increase the port's energy resilience. The study showed that such a solution would likely need external gas sources other than the port's production from wastewater, as the volume from the latter couldn't support it. Due to this, the profitability of the solution was highly dependent on the price of gas. Finally, wave generation was briefly looked at. While not ideal in the Port of Trelleborg due to the low energy nature of the local sea, the technology might prove useful in other ports thanks to its good base load generation potential.}},
author = {{Gonzales, Gabriele}},
issn = {{0282-1990}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Energy flows and potential energy development strategies in RoRo ports: A study based on the Port of Trelleborg}},
year = {{2023}},
}