Port of Gothenburg advances shore power for ships

The Port of Gothenburg has signed a contract to build a new transformer station—an essential step toward providing shore power to container and RoRo vessels by 2030.

The facility will support the port’s container and car terminals, paving the way for cleaner, more sustainable operations.

Vessels can use Onshore Power Supply (OPS) to switch to quay-side electricity while berthed. This significantly reduces emissions of CO2, sulfur oxides, and nitrogen oxides.

This not only reduces the port’s climate footprint but also improves air quality and working conditions.

For container vessels alone, OPS could lower annual CO2 emissions by at least 5,600 tonnes.

Expanding OPS to container and RoRo vessels ensures compliance with upcoming EU rules. From 2030, ships over 5,000 gross tonnes must connect to shore power while at berth.

The port reports that OPS is already operational at its RoRo, Ro-Pax, and Energy terminals.

AF Bygg Väst, part of AF Gruppen Sweden, will build the new 19 MVA transformer station under a SEK 129 million ($13.4 million) contract.

Magnus Nordfeldt, Head of Business Area Cargo at the Port of Gothenburg, stated: “This transformer station is an important milestone that brings us significantly closer to shore-side power connection for container and car/RoRo vessels. It enables electrical connection at a total of seven berths – five at the container terminal and two at the car terminal.”

Construction of the transformer station will begin in Q2 2025, with completion set for March 2027.

The EU’s Connecting Europe Facility is co-financing the project with a contribution of approximately SEK 90 million ($9 million).

The total OPS investment at Gothenburg’s container and car terminals is estimated at SEK 600 million ($62.4 million). This includes cabling and switchgear for seven berths.

In May, Port of Gothenburg announced that St1 and St1 Biokraft delivered their own Swedish-produced liquefied biomethane to the maritime sector, as Terntank’s vessel Tern Ocean was bunkered at the port.