Elemed promotes alternative fuels at Connecting Europe

EU funded projects that contribute to Connect Europe were presented by numerous stakeholders at the Connecting Europe Conference and Exhibition held in Tallinn, Estonia on September 21-22.

The Motorways of the Sea initiatives focused on alternative fuels safety and ICT solutions. Greece was represented by Elemed , the sole shipping electrification action presented in the conference, which includes the ports of Killini in Greece and Limassol in Cyprus among its partners.

The EU Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc during her visit in Elemed stand, requested more information on the project progress and appreciated the first Onshore Power Supply (OPS) in the eastern Mediterranean being installed in the port of Killini. She also underlined the need for such initiatives to make good use of the forthcoming call for alternative fuels infrastructure.

This conference was organised by the European Commission and the Estonian Presidency of the Council with the objective to identify policy actions and financing solutions to invest in the transport sector with the perspective of the post-2020 EU financial framework.

The next period will be full of activities, with the Elemed project team running risk assessment workshops for the completion of the preliminary design of the all-electric twin hull Ro-Pax vessel, and a series of visits to Greek shipyards aiming at assessing them regarding their “readiness” for undertaking works for new building or converting vessels with hybrid propulsion. The following days, the public tender for the construction of the pilot OPS installation in Killini will be launched and an open event raising awareness about project work and synergies between electricity and LNG will take place in Limassol port on Thursday, September 28. The final proposal formulating an effective regulatory framework for cold-ironing and hybrid ships is about to be submitted to Greek authorities.

Elemed (Electrification in the Eastern Mediterranean) prepares the ground for the introduction of cold ironing, electric bunkering and hybrid ships across the Eastern Mediterranean Sea corridor, aiming at eliminating emissions & noise in ports and surrounding urban area. It is a cofunded by European Union project, studying all technical, regulatory and financial issues related to the establishment of cold-ironing infrastructure, in four ports (Piraeus, Killini, Lemesos, Koper), involving three countries. Within Elemed framework, the first pilot cold-ironing infrastructure in Eastern Mediterranean will be established in Killini Port.