The Port of Gothenburg is a driving force in the development of fossil-free transport

Scandinavia’s largest port can become a showcase for how the fossil-free transport system of the future can be developed. The Port of Gothenburg, together with the Volvo Group, Scania and Stena Line, has started a collaboration to develop new, sustainable transport, which in turn will result in a strong reduction in climate-affecting emissions – the goal is a reduction of as much as 70 percent by 2030 with the entire port organisation.

The year 2030 is barely seven years away. It sounds like a huge challenge to reduce emissions at all, when population growth and consumption patterns indicate that the need to ship goods will only increase. In order to meet such a challenge and at the same time enable sustainable development, innovative thinking is required. Here, the Port of Gothenburg thinks outside the box, which the new collaboration with Volvo, Scania and Stena Line is clear proof of.

Why is the collaboration needed?

The collaboration between the four partners is called “The Tranzero Initiative” and briefly covers the development of fossil-free sea, port and land-based freight transport. The Port of Gothenburg was the initiator when the project began in 2020, and over the past three years, the parties have agreed on who will do what in terms of investments and areas of responsibility for the project to be successful.

“In order for us to reach the goal together and reduce emissions by 70 percent by 2030, it is important that all parties understand what they can and must do. We from the Port of Gothenburg’s side can influence many things, but we cannot do everything ourselves. For example, we can choose to install solar cells on the roofs of our properties and buy green electricity to heat them. These are investments of a classic nature, of which all businesses can make decisions. The biggest investments we have to make, however, require collaboration, and therefore we have started a journey of change together with Volvo, Scania and Stena Line within the framework of The Tranzero Initiative”, says Patrik Benrick, Development and Innovation Director at Port of Gothenburg.

What is going on within the initiative?

The Port of Gothenburg must establish the necessary infrastructure and secure access to alternative fossil-free fuels for heavy transport, primarily electricity and hydrogen. The Volvo Group and Scania must have commercial offers of heavy vehicles available to their customers that enable land transport to become fossil-free in the long run, in line with the port’s ambitions. Stena Line, for its part, strives for new fossil-free ships to be deployed on the Gothenburg-Fredrikshamn route before 2030 and is now moving from vision to reality with the electrically powered Stena Elektra.

Is it all just about electrification?

Stena Elektra is a concept ship in that the technology is to be tested and evaluated for future constructions. There is already an extensive fleet of ships that will continue to be in use after 2030. How can that become fossil-free? This is an issue that the Stena Group is working on. In this context, becoming fossil-free is about so much more than electrifying everything. It is not technically possible, nor is it possible in terms of resources because the electricity produced would not be enough to power all the ships. A combination of solutions is required.

“Just like us here at the Port of Gothenburg, shipping companies and haulage contractors will, to their extent, implement several different solutions that together contribute to meeting the goal of becoming fossil-free. There is no universal solution, in order to develop the sustainable transport system of the future, we must act together and we must dare to invest in and evaluate several different solutions. This is what we are mapping out and planning for right now within the initiative. In addition, we need to secure various forms of external support to succeed”, explains Patrik Benrick.

What external support is needed?

A basic prerequisite for the conversion to fossil-free transport to and from the port is that EU and the Swedish state supports the companies that are willing to upgrade their vehicle and vessel fleets and start operating on fossil-free fuels. This, for example, through targeted grants or subsidised charging stations and fossil-free fuels, such as the support that existed for regional electrification pilots in 2021 and 2022. The development of a fossil-free transport sector requires commitment from all sides and at all levels.