On Tuesday 27 February 2018, 24 experts in five conference sessions discussed how Eastern Mediterranean region could become emissions-free through the application of electrification technologies in ports and vessels. The Conference entitled “Powering zero-emission marine transportation” organised by the European co-funded elemed project attracted more than 200 delegates from marine & energy sectors, public bodies, port authorities and professional associations, at the amazing Lighthouse of SNFCC in Athens.

During his welcome speech Minister of Maritime Affairs & Insular Policy P. Kouroumplis, announced the intention to convene a Committee to prepare the greek regulatory framework for electrification in ports and ships. The conference was also inaugurated by the Mayor of Piraeus I. Moralis and the Dean of School of Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering Professor G. Grigoropoulos.

The key outcomes of elemed project, the project policy recommendations for effective regulatory framework and the “Killini case”, the first on-shore power installation in Eastern Mediterranean, were featured at the first conference session.

The first panel discussion focused on zero-emission technologies for ports and vessels, where the design of an all-electric RoPax vessel developed within elemed project, the experience of port of Antwerp in implementing cold-ironing applications, available battery & power solutions as well as the capacity of greek companies to support the switch to greener marine transportation, were presented.

How ports could be transformed to emissions free energy hubs was the focus of the next panel discussion, where representatives from Ministry of Shipping, Port Authorities, Regulatory Authority of Energy & Cruise sector underlined the challenges and opportunities for ports to accommodate electrification technologies.

Notably interesting was the last panel discussion on greek islands potential to develop a sustainable insular ecosystem with the exploitation of electrification technologies. The Orkney islands' experience of bridging renewable energy with marine transportation as well as strategies for supporting insular communities' mobility and interconnections were at the forefront of the discussion.