The company's ferries Stena Germanica and Stena Scandinavica have begun connecting to the Port of Kiel's brand-new onshore power supply (OPS) facility, installed by Wabtec.

Thanks to cold ironing, Stena Line expects to cut the ships' bunker consumption by 900t/year, hence reduce their CO₂ footprint by 2,700t/year.

The station provides electricity from 100% renewable sources.

This is the seventh terminal where Stena Line's ferries, 14 in total, connect to an OPS (others are in Karlskrona, Trelleborg, Norvik, Hoek van Holland, and two in Gothenburg).

"There are two reasons why land power is important. First, it contributes to a better city environment and cleaner air in the ports to which we call. But it also concerns future-readying our business in which the society becomes increasingly electrified, including our ports where we'll see e-powered port equipment, trucks, cars - and ultimately also e-ferries," Niclas Mårtensson, CEO, Stena Line, commented.

He furthered, "Our e-journey started back in 1989 when we connected to the first shore power supply station in Gothenburg. We've been sailing across the Gothenburg-Frederikshavn service with the hybrid Stena Jutlandica since 2018. By 2030 the latest, a fully fossil-free e-ferry will have been deployed on the route in question."

The Port of Kiel's investment was supported by the State Schleswig-Holstein (€8.9m) and the EU (€1.26m). In addition, the German Federal Government has recently approved shore-side electricity price subsidies. "We are very thankful for the multi-level political support. The land power subsidies are an important step in stimulating shipping's green transition. We are also very grateful for the long-lasting cooperation with the Port of Kiel and the City of Kiel," Ron Gerlach, Trade Director Germany, Stena Line, underlined.

Photo: Port of Kiel