Port of Tyne heads for Net-Zero with new smart port Digital platform

The Port of Tyne is to unveil a new sustainable smart port platform that will provide a blueprint for its transition to net-zero, paving the way for the decarbonisation of UK ports.

As part of the Clean Tyne Project, the Port of Tyne and Siemens have joined forces with Connected Places Catapult, Newcastle University and the North East LEP to deploy a real-time digital platform for feasibility studies that will help determine the future power needs of the port.

Understanding its current and future power usage as well as its infrastructure opportunities will enable the Port to define its path to decarbonisation.

The Clean Tyne project was granted funding by the Department of Transport and is part of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition, which sees £30m in total invested in a number of initiatives to reduce emissions from the maritime sector.

The project consortium has built on its extensive technical expertise, academic research and wider industry knowledge to integrate multi-vector renewable energy information into the purpose-built digital port platform.

This allows the partners to determine which renewable energy implementations will offer the greatest benefits to the Port and what capacity it will need from the grid going forward.

By using this form of planning, the Port of Tyne can evaluate the benefits of introducing new technology solutions before implementing them, thus minimising risk.

It is hoped that the port platform will act as a test bed and universal blueprint that can be replicated in other port environments as well as other industries.

An event officially launching the Clean Tyne Project’s port platform will be held in-person and online on 6 April.

Ian Blake, Head of Innovation and Technology at the Port of Tyne, said: “The success of the Clean Tyne project is testament to the expertise, research and collaboration of the consortium.

“The project outputs show real benefits to decarbonisation efforts across the UK Port Sector and will be the backbone for future developments in that space.

“This tool will be pivotal for the Port of Tyne to achieve its ambitious decarbonisation and environmental targets, and we are already exploring how we can expand the benefits further.”

Ian Lloyd, Head of Microgrid Solutions at Siemens, added: “There are hundreds of ports across the world, all burning a lot of diesel and impacting the environment.

“Through the Clean Tyne Project with the Port of Tyne we have been able to undertake an advanced feasibility study and to create a dependable and scalable roadmap for the decarbonisation of ports worldwide.”