North German ports in transition: billions for green energy!

North German ports in transition: billions for green energy!

The Federal Ministry of Economics has commissioned a comprehensive study on converting northern German ports for the energy transition. During a visit to Bremen, Christoph Ploß, the Federal Government's coordinator for the maritime economy and tourism, commented on the urgency of the project. The study aims to show how ports can develop into future energy hubs, with billions of euros in investments required over a period of ten years to make this happen. Bremerhaven is envisioned as a central transshipment point for hydrogen, climate-friendly fuels such as methanol and e-fuels.

The federal government plans to begin converting the ports as quickly as possible with the aim of initiating concrete investments during this legislative period. This happens against the background that port policy is viewed as a national task, even though the states are responsible according to the Basic Law. The federal government currently only transfers 38 million euros annually to all German seaports, while the industry and the five northern countries are demanding an additional requirement of up to 500 million euros per year. Ploß has also suggested amending the constitution to enable the federal government to have greater financial participation in the ports.

Additional funds for climate neutrality

In a further step, the federal government provided an additional 400 million euros over the next four years for the modernization of northern German ports in order to enable climate-neutral shipping in the long term. Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder announced this measure during a visit to the port of Duisburg. The investments should flow specifically into shore power systems, green energy bunkers and the creation of climate-neutral shipping routes. Financing comes from the Climate and Transformation Fund (KTF).

However, the Central Association of German Seaport Companies (ZDS) complains that the additional 400 million euros are not enough to eliminate the existing investment backlog of around 15 billion euros. ZDS managing director Florian Keisinger is therefore calling for a long-term financing strategy. The CDU factions in the coastal states are also putting pressure on and demanding a fundamental new regulation of seaport financing. One proposal envisages that the ports be co-financed from the federal share of the special fund “Infrastructure and Climate Neutrality”.

Industry demands

The industry is demanding reliable basic funding of at least 500 million euros annually from the federal government in order to secure the systemic relevance of the seaports in the long term. Christoph Ploß emphasized that the additional federal funds will help the coastal states, while additional income from EU emissions trading should be reinvested in the maritime economy.

These developments are a classic example of the challenges and opportunities that the transition to a climate-neutral economy brings with it. The North German coastal states expect greater financial support from the federal government in order to make the seaports future-proof and to expand their role as central players in the field of renewable energies.

As the South German newspaper and the daily news report, clear steps must be taken in the coming years to fully exploit the potential of northern German ports.