EA: From your experience, how are ports evolving to support the energy transition, both in decarbonising their operations and enabling wider infrastructure development?

Ports are very varied in their approaches depending on the type of operation they run but generally speaking, many ports are looking at alternative fuels as an interim step and electrification of operations as a longer-term strategy whilst keeping an eye on alternative options such as hydrogen which may have a place in the long-term energy mix. In addition to decarbonising their own operations, there may also be a requirement for ports to provide electricity to their shipping customers for charging of hybrid vessels or to provide auxiliary power whilst a ship is in port. This is fundamentally changing the landscape for ports with energy strategy becoming significantly more important for the long-term sustainability of the business.

 

EA: What are the key opportunities and challenges you see in leveraging port infrastructure and logistics capabilities to accelerate the deployment of clean energy technologies at scale?

As ports play a key part in the supply chains and moving goods around the world, any progress ports can make to reduce emissions through clean energy technology will have a significant impact on customers by reducing their scope 3 emissions, especially if they also provide services to their customers to decarbonise shipping whilst in port. This will ultimately help bring down the emissions associated with moving goods around the world whilst providing a direct benefit to the air quality in the areas the ports reside, improving the life of those living in the vicinity.

One of the key challenges is securing sufficient power to allow ports to decarbonise, especially when considering the often large power requirements for vessels and the complexity of requirements depending on the vessel type e.g., a cruise vessel may require a 10MVA connection but a supply vessel may require 1.5MVA but both could have different types of connections meaning ports would need different cable management systems to suit different vessels. These requirements (before considering electrification of haulage fleets and plant equipment) will put additional strain on the energy grid which may necessitate onsite generation. This represents both an opportunity (to reduce costs and reliance on the grid) but also a challenge as ports don’t always have the internal expertise to define their requirements and strategy.

 

EA: As part of the UK’s broader grid modernisation efforts, how can ports play a more central role in enabling localised energy generation, storage, and distribution?

Depending on the nature of the site, some ports may have sufficient space to generate significant amounts of energy through solar and/or wind in combination with battery storage. There could be the potential to set up a private wire network locally and essentially become an Independent Distribution Network Operator (IDNO) to provide power to businesses local to them (reducing the strain on the National Grid) or, if there is sufficient space for a significant battery energy storage system, they may be able to help balance the load on the network to help the UK’s broader grid modernisation efforts.

It is worth highlighting however that a lot of ports do not have space available that can be allocated to energy generation/storage. Thinking about many smaller privately owned ports, space is at a significant premium with large areas being required as laydown space for vessel operations so this will very much depend on the location and nature of the site.

 

EA: You’ve been instrumental in shaping AV Dawson’s net-zero journey—what lessons can be drawn from your cross-sector experience in engineering and logistics to help other industries reduce emissions and drive sustainability performance?

The main takeaway I have relevant to both the engineering and logistics industries is to break the challenge down into manageable sections. You need to understand your baseline before you can determine your plan to move forward and the team at AV Dawson did a great job identifying the right consultants to support and educate us when we started the journey to help us create our annual emissions report. We are still working to explore and understand the best solutions for us as a business (including electric HGVs, alternative fuels, electric plant equipment, on site generation etc.) and trials have been really useful for us to understand the best solutions that work in practice for our operations.

It is easy to get overwhelmed by the options available (I’m certainly not an expert on energy) but by working together both internally and with trusted partners to really understand what it is we are trying to achieve i.e., market position, long term energy requirements, reduced reliance on the grid, price security, reduced emissions to ensure the long term sustainability of the business and ultimately, net zero, we can drive sustainability performance in a way that works for our business without significantly increasing our overheads. This helps drive the long-term sustainability of our business but also helps decarbonise logistics for our customers. By providing sustainable solutions, you may also be able to attract additional volume to your business.

 

EA: You’ve been a strong advocate for engaging young people in the sustainability industry. What more do you think businesses could do to inspire and support the next generation of sustainability leaders?

I think it’s important for businesses to first understand what sustainability means to them and the value that it can bring. Sustainability isn’t just about emissions and the environment (although these are important aspects), it’s also about the long-term viability of the business to ensure it survives and thrives for future generations. Not only does this help secure jobs for those already employed, it can also help attract new people if they have a clear vision of where the business is heading.

As well as attracting new people and new perspectives, a key way to engage young people is through collaborations with schools, colleges and universities. Over the last few years, we have welcomed more than 1,000 students through our doors and although this wasn’t exclusively focussed on sustainability, it always forms part of the discussions. More recently, we have focused specifically on sustainability and have produced workshops/lessons to support children to better understand the jobs available in our industry and have worked in collaboration with local universities by providing problem statements for students to focus on as part of their studies.

This engagement from a young age helps get children thinking about opportunities that they may otherwise have been unaware of in both sustainability and the wider industry it supports.