Chapter 4 - Efficient and green infrastructure
When it comes to making waterborne transport more sustainable, ships are only half of the equation. The other half is infrastructure. In 2022, Europe’s ports played host to visits from 2.2 million vessels, handling nearly 3.5 billion tonnes of freight, including 96 million containers. Handling these kinds of numbers requires a lot of energy. When that energy is produced using fossil fuels, it results in a substantial amount of carbon emissions and pollution. Ships calling at European ports generated around 130 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2018, nearly a fifth of all CO2 emissions generated by maritime transport worldwide that year. The path towards more efficient and greener waterborne transport must include its supporting infrastructure.
More efficient, environmentally friendly ports
Bilbao in Spain, Rostock in Germany and Hanko in Finland are all making progress to cut their environmental impact. With the support of the BilbOPS project, the Bilbao Port Authority is taking steps to electrify much of its infrastructure. Leveraging onshore power supply, ships will soon be able to turn off their engines and plug into the port’s electric grid, thus eliminating emissions during berthing. Likewise, both the Rostock and Hanko ports are investing in their water- and land-based infrastructure. By adapting berths to accommodate larger vessels and improving cargo handling services, the ports are securing a long-lasting modal shift to waterborne transport and therefore improving the overall transport chain efficiency and environmental performance.
Updating Europe’s waterway network
Between the ships and the ports is a complex waterway network, which in Europe includes rivers, canals and lakes. When it comes to transporting goods, these waterways have the potential to serve as a sustainable alternative to roads. In fact, it is estimated that every tonne of freight transferred from road to water results in a four to fivefold reduction in emissions. To tap into this potential and boost inland waterway freight transport, the Seine-Escaut project makes large investments to connect and modernise a network of 1 100 km of inland waterways suitable for large vessels between France and Belgium. In the near future, these more efficient waterways will accommodate more traffic and lower-emission vessels as they make their way to and from cleaner ports – a three-pronged approach to reducing the transport sector’s environmental impact.