The port – a hub for green fuels

The transition to green fuels in the transport and logistics sector faces a number of safety-related barriers.

Ports and other hubs play a key role in this transition, as this is where many 'paths’ intersect. This concerns:

• Production, transport and handling of different types of green fuels – while various fossil fuels are still also used
• Shore-based power for ships and charging
• Handling of CO₂ to be shipped-out
• Traditional operations, such as intensive logistics in the form of fishing, import/export, trucks in/out, ship bunkering, and handling of passengers and various service activities, etc. in the ports
• Regulatory paths intersect: Seveso, IMO rules (SOLAS, ISPS), ADR rules on transport and storage of dangerous goods, local emergency services’ risk assessment and approvals, local plans, consultations in connection with extensions and new installations, etc.

In short, this means: If we can solve the challenges in the ports as a hub, we can also solve them elsewhere.

DBI believes that it should be easier to develop, implement and operate green energy systems and technologies in Denmark. Today, there are unclear or missing rules in this area. There is no simple answer to what an adequate safety level is, and the responsibility for safety and knowledge of how to achieve it is fragmented. This makes it difficult to be an authority, reduces the appetite to invest in the area, and gives rise to concerns among the local population in the areas where plant and installations are built. All of this impedes the rapid development and expansion of the new energy infrastructure that is necessary to succeed with the green transition and the ambition to reduce Danish carbon emissions.

This gives a need for a systemic and holistic approach to the area. With ports – as an infrastructure hub – as a starting point, DBI will speed up the development of the energy infrastructure. It will do this by supporting the development of clearer rules and working for the harmonisation of safety definitions, which is particularly necessary when several authorities and regulations are involved at the same time.

Under this initiative, DBI will develop practical guidelines and models for safety assessment, establish business research projects and collaborate with international parties to develop, and strengthen the holistic understanding of safety that can simplify and streamline the process of developing the Danish energy infrastructure.

DBI will also continue to promote the cooperation with a number of relevant partners, including the innovation promotion system, international organisations, authorities, industry organisations and universities. This also includes raising international funds and active participation in networks and organisations in the energy sector.

Read about DBI’s projects for ports and green fuels:

• MARCO POLO
• Safe PtX 
• Safe SBU