The DUAL Ports partners Orkney Islands Council and ITM Power are involved in the pioneering Surf ‘n’ Turf hydrogen community energy project, now launched in Orkney by the Scottish Government’s Business, Innovation & Energy Minister, Paul Wheelhouse.
Mr. Wheelhouse, one of 70 guests travelling from as far as Malta and Spain, officially unveiled the newly installed hydrogen fuel cell at Kirkwall Pier on Wednesday 27th September 2017.
Surf ‘n’ Turf is led by nationwide charity Community Energy Scotland, working with project partners EMEC (the European Marine Energy Centre), Orkney Islands Council, Eday Renewable Energy, and ITM Power.
The fuel cell is the final aspect of the hydrogen generation system being developed in Orkney as part of the Surf ’n’ Turf project: a pilot project looking to circumvent local grid constraints by generating hydrogen from tidal and wind energy.
Once produced, hydrogen will be stored and transported to Kirkwall where the fuel cell will convert it back into electricity for use by the inter-island ferries whilst berthed at the pier.
As it is produced from renewable electricity, Surf ‘n’ Turf’s hydrogen is a clean fuel that causes no carbon emissions, and has many potential uses – including to supply electricity, as a transport fuel for vehicles or ships, for heating, or to make fertiliser.
A key aspect of the Surf ‘n’ Turf project is the development of educational facilities, run by Orkney College UHI, to skill up the local community in hydrogen handling and attract trainees from other countries.
The Surf ’n’ Turf project has received £1.3m of Scottish Government funding through the CARES programme and Local Energy Challenge Fund.
Scottish Government Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy, Paul Wheelhouse, said:
“Hydrogen itself and hydrogen fuel cells both have huge potential in Scotland’s low-carbon energy system and we have already supported a number of world-leading hydrogen demonstration projects.
“We will continue to support innovation in suitable hydrogen initiatives and explore the practicalities of using hydrogen as a zero carbon substitute fuel for the heating of homes and businesses in Scotland and in transport.
Following the unveiling of the fuel cell, a public seminar on ‘Orkney’s Hydrogen Future’ was held at the Pickaquoy Centre with a turnout of over 100 people looking to find out more about the developments taking place in Orkney around hydrogen.
James Stockan, Leader of Orkney Islands Council, said:
“This is all about turning a problem into an opportunity – a home-grown solution to the difficulties grid restraints cause for a community with abundant renewable energy resources.
“The result is a world-leading project that rightly is attracting international interest. I am confident that this will be the first of many pioneering ways our community will find to utilise hydrogen produced using Orkney’s natural resources.”
On Sunday, the 17th of September 2017, the port of Oostende had organised an open day for the public, in coordination with the Flemish government and the other Flemish ports.
The focus of the open days at the port of Oostende is the Blue Growth and sustainable development. The visits have been concentrated on the REBO-terminal where the installation and the maintenance of the offshore wind parks are organized. Next to the offshore wind energy, there has been particular attention for wave technology, coastal defence and the production of seaweed.
Therefore, several companies, like FALCK Safety Services, Multitech NV, Laminaria, Parkwind, MHI Vestas, GEOxyz, CMI, Noordzeekranen , Noordzee Helikopters Vlaanderen… have presented their activities and shown what kind of industrial actions are undertaken on land and at sea. Guided tours on land and at sea have been taken place.Under a nice autumn sun, more than 2000 visitors to the port to get a glimpse of the daily life of a sustainable blue industry port, finishing the day with the tasting of new local beer, called “de Zeveroare”.
The second phase of the expansion of Port of Vordingborg set sail on thursday, the 24th of August.
The Port of Vordingborg is pilot leader of the SOIL pilot in DUAL Ports. The objective is to expand the port, in four phases, using recycled material, such as contaminated soil and slug to build the extended kay area.
On Thursday the Mayor of Vordingborg, Mr. Michael Seiding Larsen, officially took the first sod of the second phase of the expansion.
The Municipality of Vordingborg has invested 23m € in the development of the port.
We look forward to see the progress and results of the SOIL project. You can read more about the SOIL pilot here, and follow us on social media for the latest updates.
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The Port of Skagen is in the process of entering DUAL Ports as a beneficiary partner on the LNG pilot project. Therefore, the Port of Oostende and Business Vordingborg participated in an official visit to the Port of Skagen in July.
Willy Hansen, CEO of Port of Skagen welcomed the partnership to the most northern part of Denmark, when the visit to Skagen was held in July. The partnership had a tour of the port, a presentation of some of the biggest companies situated on the port and a presentation of the expansion plans for the port, that will also mean an LNG bunkering installation in the port.
Also, a representative of the business consultance organization, Lene Kappelborg gave a presentation on their thoughts on how to develop the maritime sector in the northern part of Denmark.
The partnership had a guided tour of Skagerak Pelagic A/S, one of the leading pelagic seafood production companies in Europe, specialising in herring and mackerel products, customised according to customer requests, including the famous Matches, that is exported to the surrounding countries in the North Sea Region.
The visit ended with an early morning trip to the docks, to see the “MS Independence of the Seas”, which is one of the world’s largest cruise ship, carrying almost 4,500 passangers.
The visit is considered the official welcome to Port of Skagen in DUAL Ports, and it is expected that Port of Skagen will become an official partner in the project before the end of 2017.
On the 29th-30th of June DUAL Ports participated in the North Sea Region annual conference: Sustainable Growth Corridors. The event marked the 20th anniversary of the conference.
Under the common theme of Sustainable Corridors, the North Sea Conference 2017 attracted over 320 delegates from across the North Sea Region – an enthusiastic crowd who took every opportunity to network and get together around new project ideas.
At the conference kick-off, the four invited guest speakers all emphasised the importance of transnational cooperation. The aim of this event is for stakeholders and project partners within the NSR Programme to meet and exchange ideas, challenges and opportunities in order to further a sustainable agenda.
The programme was packed with workshops and seminars – e.g. workshops presenting different results or challenges realised by other Interreg NSR projects. Some of the main topics addressed were climate change, maritime spatial planning, renewable city planning and autonomous vehicles. A panel discussion was also held, with different government officials, including the Minister-President of Flanders Geert Bourgeois and the Minister of Environment in Lower Saxony, Germany, Stefan Wenzel.
Our DUAL Ports partner Port of Oostende, represented by Business Development Manager Wim Stubbe, was interviewed on Flemish television in a news broadcast that also featured the Minister-President of Flanders.
The news feature can be seen here.
ITM Power was invited to present at a workshop organised by the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (the main source of EU funding for fuel cells and hydrogen) on the 15th and 16th June 2017 in Valencia.
The workshop was organised to bring key players from the hydrogen and marine sector together, and included:
- Fuel cell manufacturers
- Hydrogen refuelling providers
- Hydrogen storage manufacturers
- Port operators
- Ship builders
- Ship operators
The workshop followed on from a previous workshop on Smart Specialisation held in 2015 in Lyon and took a closer look at maritime and port applications, with a number of sessions centred around the issue of hydrogen and fuel cell applications for boats/ships, logistics and stationary applications, as well as other aspects including safety and regulations and funding mechanisms.
“My presentation appeared to be well received. There were questions at the end regarding the expected price of fuel and whether to go with compressed or liquefied hydrogen. I went away with a much better idea of the priorities of port operators and the sort of pressures that they are under,” says Kris Hyde, Technology Manager at ITM Power, Partner in DUAL Ports.
Click to see the presentation from ITM Power.
The Hydrogen pilot
ITM Power are highly skilled in refueling cars and buses, and the objective of the Hydrogen pilot within DUAL Ports is for ITM to design a hydrogen bunkering system and refueling station for ferries and large vessels. You can read more and follow the progress here.
Foto: NPorts. Eamonn O’Reilly (ESPO, Chairman), Dr. Matthäus Wuczkowski (NPorts, Sustainability Manager), Isabelle Ryckbost (ESPO, Secretary General)
We congratulate our project partner and pilot leader, the Port of Emden, for their achievement of the PERS Certificate. The Port of Emden is the second port of Niedersachsen Ports (NPorts) to have received a PERS certificate for its environmental management.
The Port Environmental Review System – PERS – is used as a standard for the verification of port-specific measures. The certificate is awarded after an extensive preparatory phase by the environmental initiative EcoPorts of the European Sea Ports Organization (ESPO). “With the PERS certificate, we are committed to the future-oriented development of our ports and to our sustainability initiative,” emphasizes Holger Banik, Managing Director of Niedersachsen Ports. In order to meet the requirements, specific environmental aspects have to be implemented in the ports and documented in a report. Every two years, EcoPorts re-examines environmental management.
“Green measures for Emden”
In the environmental report, six key environmental aspects were identified for NPorts in Emden: air pollutant emissions, noise emissions, water emissions and quality, waste management, pollution of soil and impacts on habitats and biotopes. Concrete measures are already being implemented or are being planned for all areas. For example, since April 2014, NPorts has been granting a reduction in the port shipments (Environmental Ship Index, ESI) for particularly environmentally friendly ships. In addition, the port company is committed to the environmentally sound disposal of ship waste. With a special management plan and a financial incentive to dispose of waste in ports, Niedersachsen Ports contributes to the reduction of garbage in the sea.
Green electricity and intelligent light for the port
Since January 1, 2017, NPorts has purchased 97.7 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources. This also serves customers in the port. This year an innovative lighting system is to be erected on a railway track in Emden. This is a part of the DUAL Ports project, under the North Sea Region Programme. The lighting system is not only equipped with LED lamps, it is based on an intelligent lighting concept. Sensors are used to provide the right lighting. This ensures that at any time only as much light is switched on as is required in the respective time. “This intelligent lighting system is a win-win situation. It helps us not only to reduce CO2 and light emissions to a minimum, but also to save valuable energy resources,” explains the NPADS Sustainability Manager, Dr. Matthew Wuczkowski. In addition, the port company’s fleet is gradually being converted to electromobility. In addition, the employees of NPorts contribute to a sustainable port with their own mobility. They are taking part in the action “Stadtradeln für die gute Klima”, which runs in Emden from 4 to 24 September 2017.
Sustainability in all NP ports
For the future it is planned to extend the PERS certification also to the other NPorts port locations. Wilhelmshaven was already certified in autumn 2016.
You can read the full PERS Environmental Report for the Port of Emden here.
Facts about NPorts
Niedersachsen Ports is the owner and operator of five seaports, seven island supply ports and three regional ports on the German North Sea coast. The registered office of the company is Oldenburg. With its branch offices in Brake, Cuxhaven with an outdoor station in Stade, Emden and Wilhelmshaven, Niedersachsen Ports manages the port infrastructure in the large seaports of the state of Lower Saxony. The northern branch also operates the supply ports for the East Frisian Islands. Thus, Niedersachsen Ports offers a variety of port locations from a single source.
For more information:
Niedersachsen Ports GmbH & Co. KG
Hindenburgstraße 26 – 30 | 26122 Oldenburg
T +49 (0) 441 35 020 – 310 | F +49 (0) 441 35 020 – 999
On March 2nd the partners of the EU Interreg programme DUAL Ports had their second partnership meeting at the Port of Zwolle, in Holland. Here, all partners in the project met with the status of development.
With the EU project DUAL Ports, eight different pilot projects focus on optimizing port operations and making port business more sustainable. Therefore, the aim is, that the eight projects together will create a 20% reduction in costs and a 10% reduction in CO2 emissions in connection with port operations.
At the partnership meeting in Holland on March 2nd, the five partnering nationalities were taken on a tour of the port in Kampen, guided by General Manager Marco Swenne. The mayor of Business and Economics, Geert Meijering, informed the partners of the rapid growth the port has been through. There is political support to the development of the ports of Zwolle, Kampen and Meppel, and the ports are participating in DUAL Ports with two pilot projects; i.e. a Low Carbon Harbour Plan, that will de-carbonise the ports activities and the Green Officer pilot, a management project that will gather the administration of the three different ports across municipalities, thereby saving operational costs.
The merge of the three ports equals a stronger competition profile in the international market, and the Central European waterway system is increasingly being used to reduce the load on the road network. The ports infrastructure is extremely important for the rapid development and growth, and from the Port of Vordingborg, Development Manager Jan-Jaap Cramer was also impressed with the project.
“It is interesting to see how the port in Kampen has evolved over the past ten years. There is enormous logistical work in the cooperation between the individual ports, which we can also let us be inspired by in Denmark. We expect a lot of international cooperation in the project, on both the development of the port and attracting new customers,” says Jan-Jaap Cramer, Development Manager at the Port of Vordingborg.
On the 3rd of November participants from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Scotland met in Denmark to talk about how the DUAL Ports project will help to reduce CO2 emissions by de-carbonising port operations in the North Sea region.
The meeting was initiated by Belgium’s Wim Stubble, who is Business Development Manager in the Port of Ostend and project leader the DUAL Ports project. The mayors of both Vordingborg Municipality and Guldborgsund Municipality put weight on the importance of a green future and expressed their optimism that DUAL Ports will create both economic and environmental results. DUAL Ports is a part of the Interreg North Sea Region Programme (NSR). Christian Byrith of the NSR attended the meeting, with the purpose to talk about the aim of projects such as the DUAL Ports. In the process since the Secretariat approved the first project in 1997, it has gone from examining various issues, to now having to explore possible solutions – “DUAL Ports is all about DOING something – something that yields tangible results”. DUAL Ports must therefore create noticeable results, which can be transferred and used by other commercial ports in the region.
DUAL Ports consists of 8 pilot projects, of which five of them were reviewed at the kickoff meeting; i.e. SOIL, LOW CARBON HARBOUR PLAN, LED, HYDROGEN and LNG. Five different countries have committed to the DUAL Ports project, each represented by Regional Entrepreneurial Ports (REP’s), cooperating with research institutions, as well as public and private companies. Paul Gerard is the CEO of the Port of Ostend. He finished the meeting off focusing on an important point; that the smaller ports participating in the DUAL Ports do not have to compete with larger industrial ports, but, on the contrary, should be a complement to the big players. There is a large market potential, which, for various reasons, are not covered by the major ports, and the DUAL Ports must help to save the smaller ports from both economic and environmental costs, making them more sustainable and robust for the future.
