Global · Case study

Port of Tyne, Clean Tyne digital energy platform for scenario planning

Port of Tyne, North East England, United Kingdom2021 to 2022

The Port of Tyne in North East England aims to become a net-zero port by 2050 (Port of Tyne, 2022a). Planning that transition was hard because there was a lack of evidence on where energy was used or wasted, and no consensus on the best market or financial drivers for energy provision (Maritime UK, n.d.). In September 2021 the UK Department for Transport backed the Clean Tyne project as a winner of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (Newcastle University, 2021). The port led the project with Siemens, Connected Places Catapult, Newcastle University and the North East LEP (Newcastle University, 2021).

Approach

Build an energy baseline. The partners created a real-time digital energy platform that captured the port's current power usage (Newcastle University, 2022).

Run scenarios and forecasts. The platform data was used for scenario planning, future power forecasts and feasibility studies (Newcastle University, 2022). It combined multi-vector renewable energy information to show which renewable options would give the port the greatest benefit and what grid capacity it would need (Port of Tyne, 2022b).

Cover operations, grid and electrification. Scenario planning covered optimized operations, grid compliance and flexibility, the electrification of shipping and logistics, and the reduction or avoidance of fossil fuels (Port of Tyne, 2022a; Port Technology International, 2022).

Link results to investment cases. The platform was designed to support business cases, budget planning and investment cases, and to assess technical, environmental and economic impact (Port of Tyne, 2022a).

Share with other ports. The port planned to share what it learned with other UK ports through its 2050 Innovation Hub (Maritime UK, n.d.).

Results

The results showed potential energy-saving infrastructure opportunities in and around the port (Newcastle University, 2022). Fully electric supply to cut ship emissions at berth was validated as part of future port infrastructure models (Newcastle University, 2022). The consortium set out a Transition Roadmap with four intervention streams: energy generation and asset electrification, business models, digital platform development, and infrastructure development (Port of Tyne, 2022b). The partners published the approach as a decarbonization blueprint that other ports can replicate (Port of Tyne, 2022b).

Transferability

DMC ports can follow the same sequence: measure current energy use first, then use a digital model to test renewable supply, grid capacity and electrification options before committing capital. This can start as an energy platform built with a utility or technology partner and a university, not a full port-wide digital twin. Framing outputs as business and investment cases helps make the case to financiers, and grant funding for a demonstration phase can lower the cost of the first study.

Sources

All information used for this case study was based on publicly available resources.