Ports at a crossroads on how to fuel their decarbonization

When it comes to decarbonization, ports operators are still unsure of whether to go all in on green hydrogen for heavy operations or wait and see if other alternative fuels gain momentum.

At present, they are partially following the strategy of electrifying everything that can be electrified and preparing to use green hydrogen for last-mile logistics, but uncertainty still clouds their decision. 

“Ports are in a situation in which their customers [shipping companies] don’t know which fuels they're going to use either. Therefore, it would be very complex to bet on an intense renovation in infrastructure capital for something that may not succeed,” Daniel Serrano, associate director at engineering and consultancy firm Ricardo, said during a port decarbonization webinar. 

He underlined that the company has conducted consultations involving various alternative fuels, including green hydrogen, ethanol and other biofuels, and said that there are already prototypes for heavy port machinery that use some of these technologies.

“The difference is that security elements and the design of this kind of infrastructure is different depending on the type of fuel,” he explained, emphasizing that, for example, green hydrogen fuel cells need to be stored in special containers to prevent leaks. 

At the same time, gas storage tanks can present an issue for ports with space problems, as certain fuels require more space for storage the less dense they are. 

When asked by BNamericas on the extent of ports' emissions, Serrano said that they vary widely depending on the size of the terminals, with larger facilities such as Rotterdam emitting as much as 15Mt (million tons) of CO2 per year, while smaller ones emit between 2Mt and 5Mt.

However, he pointed out that 80-90% of port-related emissions come from the ships themselves rather than the operations of the terminals.

During the webinar, hosted by the British embassies in Chile and Colombia, Ricardo’s associate director of sustainable energy systems, Pablo Izaguirre, said that electric solutions for smaller operations, such as transport of personnel and operation of small cranes, are becoming more efficient.

“In the case of Chile, which is an electric mobility leader, I believe it would be a quick win for ports,” he said.