ELECTRIPORT, a development project aimed at transforming the port of Heraklion into a green Port, was presented in Athens, Greece at a conference on December 10, 2022.
The project, co-financed by the Connecting Europe Facility of the European Union, uses cold ironing to reduce the environmental footprint and the use of shore power for ships with high energy needs such as cruise ships, according to a statement.
Simultaneously, this helps upgrade the port facilities and adopting of green forms of energy.
The CEO of Heraklion Port Authority S.A., Minas Papadakis, emphasized the dramatic consequences of climate change pointing out the need for immediate action to be taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
This will, in turn, contribute to the reduction of air pollution in the city of Heraklion a will become a pilot project for the development of other similar projects in port cities.
Papadakis presented a map that reflected the electrification systems in European ports, with an evident absence of such activity in the countries of Southern Europe compared to the countries of the Northern region.
National Director of the Eastern Mediterranean Cruise Lined International Association (CLIA) Maria Deligiannis added that only 29 ports in the world have cold ironing.
The ELECTRIPORT project created an open platform for dialogue in this domain and the effectiveness of the installation at the port as well as the feasibility of the whole project were thoroughly examined.
The following institutions are part of the ELECTRIPORT project:
- Heraklion Port Authority S.A., Lead Partner
- Wartsilla Hellas
- Premium Consulting
- BMG Marine – Electromechanical Engineers,
- Hellenic Mediterranean University (ELMEPA)
- ANELIXIS Development Consultants S.A
- MSI Hellas, a Private Security Company
- National Technical University of Athens
