The Port of Rotterdam has closed a loan of 90 million euros with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to develop the onshore power supply, known as OPS for its English acronym, at three of its deep-sea container terminals. The financing will be allocated to APM Terminals Maasvlakte II and to the ECT Delta and ECT Euromax terminals, both operated by Hutchison Ports, as part of a project in which the Dutch port seeks to expand the electrification of its berths for container ships.
The operation will be channeled through Rotterdam Shore Power, a joint venture involving the Port Authority of Rotterdam and the energy company Eneco. According to the scheme defined by both parties, the port will provide access to the berths and operational supervision of the project, while Eneco will undertake the tasks related to the power supply, the installation of OPS systems, integration into the grid, and technical management of all the works, including connections, wiring, and associated infrastructure.
Once operational, the project will equip eight kilometers of berthing line with a total of 35 electrical connections. These facilities will allow container ships to connect their equipment to the onshore grid during their stay in port and shut down the auxiliary diesel engines they usually use to meet their energy demand on board. The goal is to reduce emissions during the stay, as well as to cut noise and improve air quality in the port environment.
The Port Authority of Rotterdam has also indicated that this development may apply for a grant of 70 million euros from the European Commission through the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility (AFIF), which is integrated into the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). If this community contribution is confirmed, the project would have additional financial backing to accelerate the implementation of the infrastructure and cover part of the investment linked to the electrification of the berths.
The commissioning of the facilities is scheduled in phases starting from the second half of 2028. The timetable involves a gradual introduction of the systems in the three terminals, in order to align the execution of the works with the usual activity of the facilities. The multinational ABB has been selected to install the 35 connection points distributed among the three container terminals. These systems will be designed to supply electricity to a maximum of 32 ships simultaneously.
According to data provided by ABB, the combined total capacity of the systems will exceed 100 megavoltamperes (MVA), a level that the company ranks as the largest in the world for OPS installations by aggregate capacity. In addition to the design, supply, and installation of the equipment, ABB will be responsible for the commissioning phase and technical testing on site. The company plans to use prefabricated solutions to reduce installation times and minimize interference with the daily operations of the terminals.
The financial operation closed with the EIB occurs at a time when major European ports are accelerating their onshore electrification programs to adapt to the climate and regulatory objectives of the European Union. In this context, the development of OPS in container terminals appears as one of the key pieces to reduce emissions in ports before 2030, especially in locations with high maritime traffic intensity and a high concentration of intercontinental service calls.
Compared to other northern European ports, Rotterdam had shown a slower deployment of OPS in large container terminals. The most cited case in this regard is Hamburg, where the electrification of berths for large ships is further advanced. The German port is finalizing the commissioning of supply in the two remaining container terminals yet to be completed and plans to offer this option at all its main berths for large vessels. It is also working on its future extension to ro-ro traffic and other segments currently not covered by existing regulations starting next decade.
This contrast between ports reflects a broader trend in Europe. In most cases, it is the port authorities that must take on the planning, funding search, and installation of OPS infrastructures in cruise, ferry, container, and general cargo terminals. This is compounded by the need to coordinate terminal operators, shipping companies, electric utilities, and equipment manufacturers in projects that require significant initial investment and long development times.
Along with the availability of funding, the deployment of OPS continues to be conditioned by several technical and economic factors. Among them are the capacity of the electrical grid, the design of the systems, the availability of reliable data on the actual consumption of ships during their stay, and the long-term financial viability for operators and terminals. These issues have been present in various European sectoral forums in recent years, where ports have agreed that the electrification of berths is progressing, but still requires resolution of operational and market aspects to achieve widespread implementation.
In the case of Rotterdam, the combination of the EIB loan, the potential community aid from AFIF, and the technical involvement of Eneco and ABB allows for the configuration of one of the largest planned actions in Europe for container ships. The project also aligns with the strategy of the Dutch port to achieve climate-neutral operations by 2050 without losing competitive capacity in the northwest European market. The phased execution starting in 2028 will determine the pace at which the terminals incorporate this infrastructure and the level of utilization it reaches once it is available for shipping companies.