The Port of Barcelona will invest €110 million in its Nexigen project to decarbonize port activity and improve air quality. Of this total, €90 million will be invested in onshore power supply (OPS) systems to connect ships to the main electricity grid once docked, using clean energy with 100% renewable origin certification. The remaining €20 million is needed to deploy the network, which includes the Port Substation, the high-voltage connection to the Red Eléctrica Ronda Litoral Substation, and the deployment of the medium-voltage network throughout the port area.
The goal is for the Port of Barcelona to have all its cruise ship berths, the Prat Wharf, and the ferry terminals in the Sant Bertran Basin and the Costa Wharf electrified by 2030, eliminating CO2 and NOx emissions, reducing NOx and CO2 emissions from ships while in port by 38%, and eliminating 22% of emissions from all port activity,” announced the President of the Port of Barcelona, Damià Calvet, at the presentation of the Nexigen project. In the long term, the electrification of the Port of Barcelona's docks will be a key element in achieving the goal of becoming a climate-neutral port by 2050.
“The Plan was born with a name of its own: Nexigen.” Damià Calvet explained that the name originates from the combination of the words next, generation, and oxygen, and its full meaning lies in the fact that it is a Plan “to decarbonize activity and improve air quality, contributing to the well-being of future generations. A Plan for the future.”.
The electrification of docks is a complex process that requires time to develop. The Port of Barcelona anticipates "making the first electrical connections for ships between the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024," explained Ana Arévalo, Energy Transition Manager at the Port of Barcelona.
The effectiveness of the Nexigen project in reducing port emissions is guaranteed, allowing Port of Barcelona officials to assure that it is a “climate action to contribute to a better planet, with greater well-being for people and more respect for the natural environment,” confirms Damià Calvet. “We have perfectly calculated the emissions of ships while they are in port and, therefore, with the Dock Electrification Plan, we will take direct action to eliminate them,” corroborates Ana Arévalo.
The high investment and complexity involved in a project like Nexigen necessitate collaboration between ports and other international stakeholders. The Port of Barcelona is therefore participating in two important projects: the EALING project, which brings together ports from nine European Union countries and provides funding for studies and analyses of ship-to-dock (OPS) electrical connection infrastructure up to the tendering process; and the PIONEERS project, comprised of 46 partners, which aims to develop concrete solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ports while preserving their competitiveness.
“With Nexigen we are preparing for the future and it will allow the Port of Barcelona to be at the forefront of the decarbonization of port, maritime and logistics activity,” Damià Calvet emphasized this morning to conclude the presentation of the Nexigen project.
