Bremerhaven receives 400 million euros for climate-friendly port conversion!

Bremerhaven receives 400 million euros for climate-friendly port conversion!

Bremerhaven will receive major financial support over the next four years. The federal government plans to provide a total of 400 million euros for the renovation of German ports in order to significantly increase their climate friendliness. Bremen's Senator for Economic Affairs Kristina Vogt welcomes this funding program, which is intended to make a decisive contribution to achieving the EU goals in expanding shore-based electricity by 2030.

The estimates for Bremerhaven are up to 150 million euros for the shore power expansion alone. The federal government sees an important responsibility here and the Bremen CDU parliamentary group supports the initiative. Group leader Wiebke Winter emphasizes that the Senate must now actively apply for specific projects.

Planned EnergyPort project

A central component of the renovation work is the planned projectEnergyPortin Bremerhaven. This is to be converted into a center for green energy with federal funds and thus represents an important step towards climate neutrality. bremenports has also founded a consortium with three other northern European ports to promote the widespread implementation of shore power.

This cooperation includes the ports of Aarhus, Gothenburg and Stockholm, which will receive a total of 18.8 million euros from the EU funding fund “Connecting Europe Facilities”. Bremerhaven contributes 5.23 million euros to the costs of a shore power connection. This sum is approximately 50% of the cost of a single connection and clearly shows the commitment to reducing CO2 emissions among seagoing vessels.

Energy supply for ships in the harbor

The big goal behind these measures is to completely switch ship supplies to shore power so that ships no longer have to rely on fossil fuels while in port. This is expected to be achieved in 2030 and the expected reduction in CO2 emissions is estimated at up to 35,000 tonnes annually. The planned shore power systems in Bremerhaven include both mobile and fixed facilities and focus on the container quay as well as the cruise terminal and the car port.

“With these systems we not only want to improve air quality, but also reduce environmental pollution caused by CO2, heavy metals and nitrogen oxides,” explains the responsible authority. This international collaboration is necessary to reduce the shipping industry's climate footprint.

Ports as the key to a greener future

The importance of ports for the green transition cannot be overestimated. In 2019, 46.0% of EU-28 exports and 56.2% of EU-28 imports were shipped by sea. Emissions from maritime transport currently contribute between 2.5% and 3.6% of total greenhouse gases. Without appropriate measures, these emissions are at risk of increasing by 23% by 2035. Therefore, climate protection initiatives and the conversion towards more sustainable solutions in these important hubs are essential to effectively counteract the high environmental impact.

In summary – Bremerhaven is at the beginning of an exciting and important project. The new funding and initiatives can be used to set the course not only to make the port city more ecological, but also to take on a pioneering role in the area of ​​sustainable shipping. The role of ports In this context, it will continue to gain in importance in the future and is crucial for national and international climate goals.