First green shipping corridor links UK and Ireland

The proposed project would see NatPower Marine invest an estimated £100m to develop the UK’s first commercial electric ship charging network for use across all eight UK and Irish ports operated by Peel Ports. The network would also include chargers for commercial EVs passing through the ports.

The project marks the first step in a new £3 billion global charging network, planned by NatPower Marine for 120 ports worldwide by 2030. The first Irish Sea routes identified in the proposals include Belfast-Heysham and Dublin-Birkenhead.

“The proposals presented as part of this partnership are potentially game-changing, and fully support our ambitions to become a net-zero port operator by 2040,” said Claudio chief executive at Peel Ports Group.

“We look forward to working closely with NatPower Marine to explore the possibilities for establishing the first green shipping corridor between the UK and Ireland, and further enabling support for our customers, shipping lines and hauliers as they transition to a greener future.”

Driving the marine industry towards net zero

One sixth of greenhouse gas emissions produced by the shipping industry occur whilst at port. To decarbonise the sector entirely would require 4 petawatt-hours of clean power per year, equal to the energy consumption of the US.

NatPower Marine says it is taking a radically different approach to address this challenge by removing the biggest barrier to change – upfront investment – and building the port infrastructure needed for shore power.

NatPower is also developing over 15GW of clean energy GigaParks projects in the UK, with 60GWh of battery storage capacity, crucial for balancing intermittent demand like shore power.

“NatPower Marine is investing to deploy the largest global network of charging points to help solve the ‘chicken and egg conundrum’ facing this industry – shipping lines cannot electrify their vessels if port charging infrastructure is not available, and ports are unable to raise capital for charging infrastructure without certainty of demand from shipping lines,” said Stefano Sommadossi, chief executive at NatPower Marine.