Italian shipping group Grimaldi says that the Port of Barcelona has taken a major step towards sustainability with the arrival of its first Onshore Power Supply (OPS) system for ferries at the Grimaldi terminal on Sant Bertran wharf.
This milestone marks the beginning of the final countdown to the system’s activation in January 2025. This will enable ferries of Trasmed (a Spanish operator and part of the Grimaldi Group) docking at the closest commercial wharf to the city to switch off their engines and operate on 100% renewable electricity supplied via the OPS. This transition will significantly reduce both emissions and noise pollution.
As part of this transformation, Trasmed has brought back into service its ferry Ciudad de Palma, which has been retrofitted to connect to the OPS and run on shore power while moored. Thanks to this upgrade, provided for in the agreement signed between the Grimaldi Group and the Port of Barcelona in February 2022, the OPS can support daily ferry operations, maximising the reduction of emissions. The vessel retrofit program will be extended in 2025 to Trasmed’s Ciudad de Granada, Ciudad de Barcelona, and Ciudad de Soller, preparing them for shore power connectivity.
The Grimaldi terminal OPS, developed by Vinci Energies Spain, is the result of a €3.5m investment, partially funded by the Sustainable and Digital Transport Support Program under Spain’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. Designed as a ‘turnkey’ solution, the system will initially provide 4MVA of power, expandable to 6.5MVA, and can adapt voltage and frequency to meet the specific requirements of each vessel.
The project has already involved significant civil engineering efforts, such as extending the medium-voltage network to the terminal and installing quayside OPS connections. The final stage will be completed with the arrival of a cable management system, tailored to the terminal’s operations, which will allow flexible connections for different ferries docking there.
The OPS will begin operating in a two-year pilot phase starting in 2025, enabling the system to be fine-tuned and adapted to the evolving needs of this initiative as the Port of Barcelona advances toward decarbonisation. The Grimaldi terminal’s proximity to the city makes the project even more strategic.
Port of Barcelona President José Alberto Carbonell said: “With the OPS for ferries we will not only make port activity more sustainable, but we will contribute to improving the quality of the city’s air and reducing noise where we can have the most impact, at the docks closest to the city centre.”
Grimaldi Logistica España CEO Mario Massarotti added: “Both our Cruise and ECO-class vessels, plying the routes to Italy, have battery systems allowing their engines to be turned off when they are berthed. Thanks to this new infrastructure, Trasmed’s ferries, which serve the Balearic Islands market, will also cease to produce emissions in port.”
Image: Installation of shore power in Barcelona (source: Grimaldi)
