VISITING royalty, Their Majesties the King and Queen of Denmark, witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding at the port of Melbourne this week that explores the introduction of electric tugs.
The MOU features a partnership between Port of Melbourne (PoM), Svitzer, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Plexar Energy which will establish a collaborative framework to assess the feasibility of introducing two fully electric TRAnsverse 2600e tugs in the port.
The framework will also explore the feasibility of a dedicated renewable energy microgrid and high capacity charging infrastructure.
The MoU was officiated at the Port of Melbourne Education Centre as part of the Danish State Visit to Australia.
L to R: Debbie Goodin, Chair, Port of Melbourne; Shohan Seneviratne, Head of APAC Microgrid
Electrification Fund, CIP; Christina Grumstrup Sørensen, Senior Partner, CIP; Videlina Georgieva,
Managing Director, Svitzer Australia; Kasper Friis Nilaus, CEO, Svitzer; Saul Cannon, CEO, Port of Melbourne;
Her Majesty Queen Mary of Denmark, His Majesty King Frederik of Denmark. Image: Port of Melbourne
PoM chief executive Saul Cannon said the collaboration reflected a shared ambition to improve port efficiency while accelerating the sector’s transition to lower emissions operations.
“Efficient, reliable towage services are critical to the smooth functioning of the port, and electrification offers the potential to improve both operational performance and environmental outcomes," Mr Cannon said.
“Through this MoU, we are exploring what it would take to bring the next generation of electric towage to Melbourne in a way that benefits port users, reduces emissions, and supports a more sustainable future.”
The shift to electric towage has the potential to deliver a range of benefits for port users, including improved vessel-handling performance, reduced noise and vibration, and greater predictability in operating costs.
A dedicated renewable microgrid may also provide a resilient and efficient energy supply tailored to the specific operational requirements of tug services.
Svitzer Australia managing director Videlina Georgieva said the partnership with PoM and CIP represented an important step in bringing the next generation of sustainable towage to Australia.
"Towage is critical to the performance of any port, and our biggest challenge for decarbonisation is reducing emissions without compromising safety, capability or reliability.
“At Svitzer, we are investing in the technologies that will help solve this challenge, and it is exciting to see Melbourne leading the way, through this collaboration, to make sustainable towage a working reality in Australia,” Ms Georgieva said.
Plexar CEO and partner at CIP, Karsten Plauborg, said the partnership highlighted how microgrids and AI based optimisation tools can support electrification.
“We are grateful to our visionary partners and look forward to demonstrating how Plexar’s solutions, electrical engineering expertise and the direct use of onsite electricity generation can both optimise costs and increase power availability," Mr Plauborg said.
The MoU was signed during the state visit’s energy program, themed Partnering for a green, secure and sustainable tomorrow and the occasion underscored PoM’s broader commitment to advancing decarbonisation and enhancing efficiency across the port supply chain, the port said in a statement.
“Transitioning port operations to cleaner, more efficient technologies is a shared challenge," Mr Cannon said.
Collaborations like this help us build the partnerships and capability needed to deliver meaningful progress for the sector and for Victoria."