Powering Up the Future of Ports: Lessons from leading maritime electrification projects

​Ports are central to the maritime energy transition, and their role is essential to meeting the shipping industry's goal to reach net-zero emissions by mid-century.

​As governments, ship owners, cargo owners and other stakeholders pursue their decarbonization goals, ports are becoming critical hubs for cleaner operations, including through electrification. Electrified ports support shore power deployment, battery-electric and hybrid vessels, cargo-handling equipment electrification, charging infrastructure, and grid modernization projects. Port provisions to support electrification across vessel types – from harbor craft and ferries to ocean-going vessels – vary widely in impacts, infrastructure needs, and planning requirements. These efforts can differ in scale and pace both within countries and across regions, offering valuable insights for the wider sector that are often trapped in silos.

​This roundtable brings together port authorities, ship owners, investors, utilities and policy makers to discuss how major ports are planning and implementing electrification strategies, the infrastructure and policy requirements needed to support growth, and lessons that can be shared across regions to accelerate maritime decarbonization.