Scandinavian Electric Transport System, SETS, will accelerate the Nordic ports' conversion to electricity operations, thus meeting the need to reduce CO2 emissions from the ports. Eight ports from Denmark, Norway and Sweden are participating in the project, and over the next three years, they will undergo a transformation to the benefit of the maritime climate imprint in the transport sector:

“The goal is to create a cleaner environment at the ports, and this applies to both pollution and noise. The ports must be front-runners in the green transition and act before legislation to this area. In Northern Jutland we have experience as first movers with green transition, and we will set a new green standard for ports around the world,” says Peder Key Kristiansen, director of the Skagen Educational Center and the coordinator of the project, which includes Aarhus University, the University of Southeast Norway and the Energy City of Frederikshavn as professional project participants.

Among other things, the project will develop an electrification strategy that all the ports involved can translate into concrete solutions. Test installations must be established including charging stands for the electric trucks, electric cranes and other vehicles used at the ports, but also installations that can supply shore power to fishing vessels and ships so that they can switch off the diesel engines while at berth. The goal is for a significant reduction of CO2 in the participating ports, and an experience catalog will compile for the use of other ports.

“Initially, SETS is about the ports, but in the long term we want all the associated companies at the ports to work. There is a lot of goodwill gained right now, and when you are among the first to take the green innovative steps, it is much easier to finance the transition. So it makes sense both for the environment and for the bottom line,” says Peder Key Kristiansen.