Port of Gothenburg joining green shipping initiative

The Swedish government has selected three Port of Gothenburg projects for a green transformation of shipping to constitute Sweden’s contribution to the international initiative Green Shipping Challenge. 

Sweden has presented three commitments to stimulate the transition to green shipping. All of these are collaborations involving the Port of Gothenburg.

The first concerns the development of a green corridor between Sweden and Belgium.

The green corridor between the Port of Gothenburg and North Sea Port was launched on Gothenburg Port Day on 12 October 2022. The ports pledged to make necessary infrastructure adaptations for establishing the green corridor. These include sustainable fuels bunkering operating regulations and an increase in discounts on port dues for ships using cleaner fuels through their respective environmental discount systems.

The second is an industry-wide collaboration that will make Gothenburg’s port Europe’s first hub for green electrofuel.

Ferry operators Stena Line, DFDS and energy companies Ørsted and Liquid Wind have partnered with the Swedish Port of Gothenburg to establish an electromethanol (e-fuels) hub.

With the intent to launch in 2025, this pioneering venture is a tangible step towards a carbon-neutral shipping industry, according to project partners.

The third commitment concerns the cooperation on a green corridor between the Port of Gothenburg and the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

After COP26 in Glasgow, the USA took the initiative for the Green Shipping Challenge, which is to encourage countries and other actors to present concrete commitments so that the international shipping sector can contribute to reaching the 1.5 degree target.

The initiative is led by the US and Norway and was launched earlier this week at the COP27 climate summit in Sharm-el-Sheikh.

“We are proud to be able to contribute to Sweden’s commitments at COP27 with concrete projects that lead to actual emission reduction, and which can also show the way for other ports,” said Edvard Molitor, Head of International Public Affairs and Sustainability at the Gothenburg Port Authority.

“The Port of Gothenburg has been conducting a very ambitious climate work for many years, and it is gratifying that we can now put even more of this into practice by creating new green corridors based on alternative fuels for shipping that significantly reduce emissions.”

“It is important for the decarbonisation to reduce emissions from shipping. Swedish shipping is already well ahead in the transition and this initiative gives Swedish companies the opportunity to compete and contribute to the global transition,” Swedish minister for Infrastructure and Housing Andreas Carlson stated.