From joint solutions to a sustainable port
The “Carbon-neutral Überseehafen” (CNÜH) project was launched in 2023 with the aim of transforming the City of Bremen’s overseas port in Bremerhaven – the Überseehafen – into a climate-neutral port. In this project, bremenports GmbH & Co. KG – acting on behalf of the Special Asset Port – works in close cooperation with the local port industry, i.e. the port stakeholders.
Together, the partners are developing a comprehensive decarbonization strategy that ties in with the Port Development Concept 2035. Alongside the strategic targets, the focus is on practical implementation. Accordingly, the port stakeholders have defined specific measures for the port on the basis of a digital twin of Überseehafen and are planning to continue this cooperation with the aim of reducing carbon emissions.
Current results in the Port Stakeholders’ Policy Paper (PDF 1.6 MB)
European and regional framework
In the European Green Deal announced in December 2019, the European Commission stated its target of making Europe climate-neutral by the year 2050. The Green Deal includes a comprehensive roadmap for all sectors of the economy – including the transport sector and consequently the ports. As central interfaces of global supply chains, the ports are called upon to make a substantial contribution towards decarbonization.
The Federal Land of Bremen also resolved its climate policy course at an early stage and the Climate Action and Energy Programme 2020 resolved by Bremen’s Senate in 2009 defined ambitious targets: reducing carbon emissions by the year 2020 by a minimum of 40 % relative to 1990. That target could not be achieved. When the programme was updated and evaluated in 2018, a reduction of only 16 % was forecast for 2020.
The project received new impetus amongst other things from the Final Report of the Select Committee published in 2021, which stated an ambitious target: climate-neutrality for the Federal Land of Bremen by 2038.
The contribution made by Überseehafen
As an industrial and logistics hub, the Überseehafen in Bremerhaven plays a key role for the economic performance of the Federal Land of Bremen. At the same time, it is a significant location in terms of emissions.
On rolling out the CNÜH project, the port community is assuming responsibility and also actively shaping the transformation process. The development of a viable decarbonization strategy is not only one factor for achieving Bremen’s climate targets, but an important step towards ensuring the future viability and competitiveness of the port location within a European context.
A digital twin of the Überseehafen energy system was created by a group of ten stakeholders, including bremenports, Siemens and TU Berlin university, in the “SHARC” project.
Achieving zero carbon emissions with the help of the digital twin
One central element of the CNÜH project is to create a digital twin for Überseehafen, in other words, a digital representation of the entire energy system and energy flows in the port area.
The digital twin integrates the present and also the forecast energy consumption data of the individual port stakeholders. This data serves as a basis for simulating various future scenarios by adapting the different framework conditions, such as regulatory requirements, technological developments or energy prices.
Different decarbonization pathways were calculated with the help of an integrated optimisation model and evaluated in terms of their efficiency, cost-effectiveness and practical feasibility. These models consistently followed the political target of zero carbon emissions by 2035.
The outcome: the energy system has to be transformed
The simulations have delivered a clear picture: if carbon-neutrality is to be achieved by 2035, the present energy supply system has to undergo fundamental transformation. The present energy system at the port still focuses strongly on fossil fuels and has to be comprehensively changed.
The target picture presented by the digital twin shows a predominantly electric energy system based on renewable energy generation.
Key factors are:
Stakeholders’ Policy Paper
The port stakeholders have adopted a joint Policy Paper that sets forth the current status and the background of the Carbon-neutral Überseehafen project.
The paper provides a clear and systematic overview of the next steps that have to be taken and how the responsibilities of the private and public actors can be specifically defined in order to implement decarbonization effectively.
Joint solutions and regulatory boundaries
One other key aspect of the project was to investigate the extent to which joint energy supply to the port stakeholders could accelerate the decarbonization process.
However, the analysis revealed that establishing and operating a joint energy system currently faces numerous regulatory obstacles. The present legal framework favours primarily the supply of renewable energy to individual consumers rather than a shared self-supply system for the port stakeholders.
The consequence: under the current conditions, decarbonization in the port area can be promoted primarily by measures implemented by individual companies.
Further steps en route to zero carbon
The common goal remains clearly defined: a climate-friendly Überseehafen that will eventually become carbon-neutral. In order to exploit cross-company synergies and promote a systematic transformation process, the project participants have agreed to continue their cooperation in four key areas.
Continuing and expanding their cooperation aimed at the shared target of a climate-friendly, carbon-neutral Überseehafen.
