Shore power terminals
at the PORT OF KIEL

"Shore power" is the term used to describe the supply of power to the ship's electrical system from the shore power grid while the ship is berthed in port. Mooring, plugging in, engine off. This maneuver can be observed more and more frequently in the port of Kiel. The ships of international shipping companies are equipped with a wide variety of standards. They have varying requirements with power demands of 3-16 megawatts (MW). In our shore power systems, we adapt the different voltages (6.6/11 kilovolts) and frequencies (50/60 hertz) between the on-board and shore-side grids.

We purchase 100 per cent green electricity to operate our shore power plants.
In 2023, 100 per cent of our green electricity came from German wind power and solar energy generated on our port areas.
In addition to the shore power ships calling at Kiel, we also use this to supply all properties and electrical port handling equipment.

Ships need electrical energy while they are at berth. Our shore power systems enable environmentally friendly ship operation with almost zero emissions in the port of Kiel. Diesel engines off!

The sketch shows the diagram of the Ostseekai/Schwedenkai plant - one of the largest plants in Europe - with an output of 16 MVA. The electricity comes from the grid of the state capital Kiel and is adapted to the different requirements of the ships in the shore power plant.

The gas-insulated switch gear forms the entrance to the substation of the shore power plant. The 110 KV transformer converts the voltage from 110 KV to 10 KV, which is required to operate the system. It continues into the entry switch gear, the start of the actual shore power system. The input transformers feed the converter. This is where the 10 KV input voltage is converted to the 2.19 KV voltage required by the frequency converter. The frequency converter is the heart of the system. Only a few ships use the standard European mains frequency of 50 Hertz on board. Most have an on-board frequency of 60 Hertz. This is adjusted by the frequency inverter. The output voltage is 10.4 KV. The electricity is routed to the Schwedenkai and the Ostseekai via the distribution switch gear. This means that cruise ships at the Ostseekai and ferries for freight and passengers at the Schwedenkai can be supplied with electricity every day in Kiel.

The transformer on-board voltage and the exit switch gear Ostseekai are integrated into the shore power plant. The Schwedenkai has a transformer station. In both cases, the voltage is now adjusted to 11 or 6.6 KV as required. At the Schwedenkai ferry berth, the connection to the ship is made via a permanently installed crane arm. At the Ostseekai, the cable management wagon forms a flexible connection between the shore connection box and the ship.

In 2023, in addition to Norwegenkai, Ostseekai and Schwedenkai, the shore power system for the largest part of Kiel‘s port, the Ostuferhafen, was opened with two shore power plants. These now include a 50/60 Hz system for cruise ships and ferries and a 50 Hz system for ferries. This means that we have equipped all of the PORT OF KIEL‘s large ferry and cruise terminals with shore power connections, thus taking another important step towards climate neutrality.

Since 2019, we have been continuously investing in the expansion of our shore power infrastructure, have developed systems together with shipping companies and partners, set standards and are among the pioneers among ports internationally. With all of our systems, we have one of the largest shoreside power offerings in Europe and are therefore really ahead of our time, as shore-side power is becoming more and more established and will be mandatory from 2030.

The port-wide shore-side power supply for ferries and cruise ships at all terminals is a key element of our BLUE PORT strategy. Shore power alone is not the solution, but it does make a significant contribution. More and more ferries and cruise ships are now using shore power to meet their electricity needs at our terminals, switching off their engines and reducing their emissions to almost zero while at berth.

Here, too, a change is currently taking place in order to convert shipping to alternative drives by 2050. At the moment, LNG is seen as the interim solution until so-called ‘green LNG’ can be produced. We created the legal framework for refuelling with Lloyd‘s Register back in 2022 and in May 2023, Kiel was the first German port where a cruise ship was supplied with liquid natural gas; since then, large cruise ships such as AIDA and MSC have regularly bunkered LNG in the port of Kiel.

Read more about Ship drives of the future ...

Even if the solution will have been found in alternative drives by 2040/2050, we do not see shore power as a flash in the pan or what was once described as a bridging technology. On the contrary, we expect shore power at berth to be the more favourable alternative in ports also in the longer term due to the production costs and global availability of hydrogen derivatives. The system can also be used in the future to charge electric drives such as battery storage systems on board. And when that time comes, we will be ready.