CEMEX UK tackles shipping emissions

Work will begin in April this year on a new demonstrator of a smart shore power system at CEMEX’s wharf in Shoreham, UK. Working in partnership with University of Warwick and advanced system integrator, iconsys, CEMEX is developing an intelligently-managed shore power system demonstrator, specifically tailored to understand fluctuations in electricity demand of self-discharging commercial vessels.

The UK Department of Transport has awarded the project a grant of nearly GBP1.7m (US$2.15m) with a view to the system being able to eliminate the operation of onboard diesel engines while ships are discharging marine aggregates. The project also aligns with Shoreham Port’s wider sustainability goals and efforts to create a credible and measurable Local Industrial Decarbonisation Plan. 

Laurence Dagley, operational excellence and business development director for CEMEX west Europe materials, commented, “Our initial feasibility study for this shore power system identified an opportunity to save a significant amount of CO₂ during each dredger discharge, while also improving local air quality at the port itself. We are therefore pleased to have received this funding to progress to the next stage of the project and undertake on-site demonstration.”

The system will incorporate battery energy storage and solar photovoltaic energy generation, plus integrated hardware-in-the-loop simulation to both virtually expand the capability of the system and validate modelling software predictions. A period of 12 months has been allowed for installation and demonstration of the system at Shoreham and for the results to be shared with stakeholders from industry and the Department of Transport.