A study by Arup, Lloyd’s Register (LR) and The Resilience Shift has outlined the critical role of ports in driving and supporting the case for investment in energy infrastructure. It focuses on the integration of fuel demand for early adopters in green corridors, ports, and energy systems.
Focusing on a case study of a green shipping triangle in the Atlantic Ocean, the research highlights the risks and opportunities associated with developing infrastructure for alternative fuels and how ports can unlock investment for the production and supply of alternative fuels.
The study, which brings together research and expertise into the hydrogen economy (Arup), maritime decarbonisation (Lloyd’s Register Maritime Decarbonisation Hub) and resilience for ports (The Resilience Shift), evaluates land-side infrastructure for fuels derived from blue hydrogen (produced from natural gas using carbon capture) and green hydrogen (produced from renewable energy and water). It takes a whole-system view of the challenges and opportunities associated with these technologies – building on Arup’s hydrogen experience across the sectors – demonstrating the need for careful integration with port and energy systems using a sustainability and resilience focused framework.
Regardless of the fuel of choice, the research shows that demand for alternative fuels is intrinsically linked with the concept of green corridors – where the transition can start through a multi-stakeholder initiative. This total value approach can unlock investment and highlight the opportunity for ports as resilient zero carbon gateways to growth, bringing co-benefits in local social, environmental, financial and economic value.
Coalitions are forming around numerous green corridor proposals, and this study can support these coalitions and their potential infrastructure investors to adopt a whole value chain approach to potential challenges and demonstrate the scale of the infrastructure projects to undertake.
The authors used an innovative approach of looking at the demand side of shipping and the impacts on the need for and scale of land-side infrastructure. Using a scenario of a green shipping triangle in the Atlantic, connecting Brazil, South Africa and Morocco, the authors explore how this will drive decarbonisation in practice and what the challenges and opportunities are with a whole-system resilience-led approach, where ports act as the linking piece between shipping and the energy systems.
The study is available to download at Arup or on our website.
Communities globally depend on resilient, low carbon ports to prosper. Our previous work on Resilience4Ports explores a multi-stakeholder, whole-systems approach to enhance the resilience of ports, as a nexus of critical infrastructure systems. With our partners, we explored opportunities for resilient, system-wide transformation through the lenses of decarbonisation, technology and port cities. See the full report: Resilience4Ports: Gateways to a resilient future.
To find out more about what resilience means for ports and port cities, watch the video below, from our collaboration with the British Port Association’s film, Gateways to Growth.
