A competition for solutions to the supply of flexible clean power to ships and other port users closes on 26 March.

Currently ships in berth receive power from onshore facilities and port owners have to  managing energy being delivered to the ships.  Electrical energy is supplied from the onshore grid, along with diesel generators. Increasingly other non-fossil fuel derived sources including energy storage systems, such as large scale batteries, powered by PV or wind.

Two competitions are seeking for solutions:  to avoid the stranding of diesel-powered equipment, as emissions regulations are tightened and owners are seeking non-fossil fuelled alternatives; and to consider the availability of energy supply and the different demands of ships and port-side equipment to explore efficient means of managing the electrical energy supplies.

The winning business(es) in this competition will present their solutions to a group of major port operators such as the Royal Navy, ABP Limited, BAE Systems, Port of Cromarty Firth, Forth Ports Limited, Port of London Authority, Vattenfall Networks.

Meanwhile a competition is open until late April for innovative smart, flexible zero-emission power provision at the waterside, for berths throughout the Tidal Thames. The winning businesses in this competition will present their solutions to the Port of London Authority.

The competitions are being run by KTN-innovation Exchange, a cross sector programme that aims to support innovation transfer by matching industry challenges to innovative companies from other sectors. It is a partner of InnovateUK.  Access the group’s challenges here.