The shoreside power station of the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) at HHLA Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA) has successfully charged a container ship – the MSC Athens – with shoreside electricity for the first time.
Testing timeline
Further test runs are already planned to integrate the supply of container ships with shoreside power into regular operations in the Port of Hamburg soon. Earlier in April 2025, the first ship integration test was successfully completed at CTA’s new shoreside power station. As part of this, the vessel belonging to the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) was supplied with the first test amounts of electricity from renewable sources. Overall, the shipping company owns approximately 40 vessels that can be charged with shoreside electricity. The test was carried out jointly by HPA, HHLA and MSC. PowerCon and Igus acted as technology partners in charge of converters and connectors.
With the power station at CTA, the third shoreside power station for container ships in the Port of Hamburg is now in the transitional phase leading up to regular operations. Additionally, the power station at HHLA Container Terminal Burchardkai is expected to be ready this year, meaning that shoreside electricity will be provided at all megaship berths from the end of the year. The expansion of this infrastructure is a central component for turning Hamburg into a futureproof, low-emission port city.
Decarbonization vision
Friedrich Stuhrmann, chief commercial officer of HPA, said, “Every successful ship integration test brings us one step closer to integrating the power stations into regular operations. I am delighted that MSC is on board with us to jointly contribute toward making shipping and operations in the Port of Hamburg more environmentally friendly by using shore power.”
Jan Hendrik Pietsch, head of sustainability at HHLA, added, “With the first successful test of the shoreside power station at CTA, we have come closer to the goal of installing modern power stations for the supply of shoreside electricity at all three HHLA container terminals in Hamburg. That is an important step toward climate-friendly port logistics. We are glad that our customers can thus charge their vessels during lay time with low-emission energy. This way, a further part of the supply chain can be decarbonized.”
Nils Kahn, managing director of MSC Germany, commented, “The integration of shore power into our fleet is an important step toward sustainable shipping. We are pleased to be working with the HPA and HHLA on this climate-friendly energy supply and to contribute to improving air quality in the Hanseatic city, because Hamburg and its port are important to us.”
In related news, motion plastic manufacturer and cable specialist Igus recently deployed a mobile shore power connection system at the Port of Hamburg. Click here to read the full story.