Many places strive to build a "zero-carbon port", experts say there are still many obstacles and challenges

Tianjin Port announced the completion of the world's first "smart zero-carbon" terminal; Huangshi Xingang announced that the comprehensive smart zero-carbon power plant (Phase I) has been successfully connected to the grid for power generation, and the port is self-sufficient in electricity, becoming the first zero-carbon port on the Yangtze River; Huanghua Port launched The country's first zero-carbon pilot for coal terminals; Zhangzhou Port's "Zero Carbon Terminal" photovoltaic project was put into operation; Weifang Port obtained the "Carbon Neutrality Evaluation Certificate" of China Classification Society, becoming the country's first "zero-carbon port"...

Recently,"zero-carbon ports" have become a hot word in the transportation industry. However, many experts recently stated that with the growth of port throughput in recent years, energy consumption has also continued to rise. Coupled with the constraints of some port carbon reduction measures, such as technology, equipment, and policies, the construction of "zero-carbon ports" still exists. Many obstacles and challenges.

Multiple measures to create a "zero-carbon port"

On October 18, the official website of the Ministry of Transport introduced that Weifang Port of Shandong Port Bohai Bay Port Group received the "Carbon Neutralization Evaluation Certificate" issued by China Classification Society Quality Certification Co., Ltd.(CCSC) on the 15th, marking the country's first "zero-carbon port" was built in Weifang Port.

In March this year, Weifang Port released a plan to create a "zero-carbon port". Based on the "PAS2060:2014 Carbon Neutrality Verification Specification", CCSC evaluated the quantification and offset process of greenhouse gas emissions generated by Weifang Port's production and operation from June 10 to September 10 this year. The evaluation results showed that carbon neutrality was achieved.

Ports have always been "big energy users". According to Weifang Port, its "zero-carbon port" goal is achieved through multiple measures: cleaner energy structure. Four 6.7 MW wind turbines were successfully connected to the grid on September 30, with an annual available power generation exceeding 70 million kilowatt-hours and a reduction of 57,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions; a wind, solar and hydrogen multi-energy complementary system was built, and a 3.3 peak MW photovoltaic power station was built. The annual power generation capacity is 3.6132 million kilowatt-hours, and the hydrogen refueling station can store 300 kilograms of compressed hydrogen daily; 46 charging piles will be built to meet the charging needs of electric vehicles and machinery in the port's collection and distribution, and promote the replacement of machinery and electricity in the port.

Since 2019, Guoneng Huanghua Port has ranked first in the country in coal throughput for five consecutive years. The port's main loading and unloading equipment all adopts frequency conversion drive control technology, and for the first time, large-scale and large-installed capacity frequency converter technology has been successfully applied to the third and fourth coal belt conveyor systems. Since 2016, a cumulative investment of 136 million yuan has been the first to build a high and low voltage shore power system covering 21 berths across the country. The shore power coverage rate of the terminal has reached 100%, and the annual shore power usage exceeds 4 million kilowatt hours.

During an interview with the intelligent container terminal in Section C of Tianjin Port's Beijiang Port Area recently, First Financial Reporter saw that three 200,000-ton container berths were spread out on the terminal coastline with a total length of 1100 meters. Various containers were arranged in an orderly manner, and the colorful element-painted automated rail bridges and quayside bridges are eye-catching; two 4.5MW distributed wind turbine fans with a height of more than 110 meters stand upright on the green belt on the north side of the port area, close to the ro-ro terminal wall, and the blades rotate slowly.

At the terminal operation site, 12 automated terminal quay cranes have no cab. The lock station uses 6-axis robots and 19 types of fixtures to operate the connection locks of 47 types of containers, with accurate positioning in 4 seconds; nearly a hundred new generation of intelligent transportation robots with a top speed of 35 kilometers per hour.(ART) carries containers quickly on the roads in the field area...

The carbon emission sources of the port industry mainly come from fuel and electricity consumed by loading and unloading production, auxiliary production and auxiliary production. "The terminal uses multiple wind turbines to generate power and the photovoltaic power station with the largest single installed capacity in the country's port, achieving zero carbon emissions throughout the journey. The port area has been awarded the industry's first carbon neutrality certificate." Fan Jingmin, deputy general manager of the Safety and Environmental Protection Department of Tianjin Port Group, said that at present, the port area has achieved full coverage of shore power for all container and dry bulk berths. 100% of its own ships use shore power, and 100% of its onshore power for ships coming to Hong Kong should be fully connected.

In Huangshi Xingang, the roof of the modern logistics park warehouse is covered with large photovoltaic panels. On both sides of the roads in the port area, wind, electricity and electricity integrated street lights are loaded with photovoltaic panels and fan blades to continuously produce electricity. Ships, heavy trucks, gantry cranes and other equipment in the port are charged and replaced by shore power to achieve zero fuel consumption.

Huangshi New Port is a rare deep-water port in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, the largest single port in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and is also one of the 28 major inland ports in the country and a national first-class open port. The comprehensive smart zero-carbon power plant project has reduced the port's carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions by more than 90%.

Port zero-carbon transformation still has a long way to go

my country's port size ranks first in the world. Among the top 10 ports in global port cargo throughput and container throughput in 2023, my country's ports account for 8. Statistics show that carbon emissions from my country's transportation sector account for about 10% of the total carbon emissions of the whole society. Although carbon emissions from ports and terminals account for a small proportion, they have a significant impact on the atmospheric environment quality of port cities and regions. There is still a long way to go to build a green port and achieve low-carbon and zero-carbon transformation.

At the "2024 Moving towards Zero Emissions Transportation Forum" held on the 18th, Wang Nini, associate researcher at the Water Transport Science Research Institute of the Ministry of Transport, said that compared with the mobility of the transportation industry, ports have relatively concentrated areas, relatively simple management, and involvement in society. The advantages of relatively few public members make it easy to carry out carbon reduction work.

Wang Nini introduced that although ports in various places have achieved remarkable results in reducing carbon emissions in recent years, there are still some problems. From the perspective of layout, the spatial layout of some ports is unreasonable, which is in great contradiction with urban development; the utilization rate of shoreline is deep and shallow, and the utilization rate of high-quality shoreline is low. In terms of system, it is difficult to promote the combined transportation of molten iron and steel due to the conditions and limitations when the port is built.

"Judging from the port's energy consumption structure, electricity use has been increasing in recent years. Some common terminal operation techniques are still relatively traditional. In addition, the corresponding standards, specifications, monitoring, assessment and evaluation systems for terminal carbon reduction are not yet complete." Wang Nini said that in recent years, many ports have actively deployed wind power generation and photovoltaic power generation, but there are also many problems. Wind power generation involves space in ports, and some ports lack space; some ports have built megawatt photovoltaic facilities, but some terminals cannot install photovoltaic equipment due to a large number of old warehouses.

At the "2024 Moving towards Zero Emissions Transportation Forum", the report "Moving towards Zero Emissions: Green Transformation and Prospects in China's Non-Road Transportation Fields" jointly released by the Motor Vehicle Emission Monitoring Center of China Academy of Environmental Sciences, Wuhan Yangtze River Shipbuilding Design Institute, and China Comprehensive Transportation Research Center of Beijing Jiaotong University stated that ports are an important component of the global supply chain and green transformation is crucial. However, at present, there are uncertainties in the technical path of emission reduction, challenges exist in the reliable supply of green fuels, there are many types of terminal operating machinery, complex operating environments, imperfect standard systems, and difficult supervision.

Many experts said that the electrification of port energy-using equipment should continue to be promoted and the proportion of clean energy should be increased. Transportation authorities should strengthen carbon emission supervision, continuously improve means, and encourage enterprises to continuously reduce carbon emissions through voluntary actions.