A&P Falmouth will reduce emissions in port by providing sustainable clean shore power solutions to vessels after it was successful in a bid to the UK Government’s Zero Emission Vessel Infrastructure fund
A&P Falmouth is part of APCL Group, the global ship building and ship repair organisation.
The facility is one of the world’s largest natural deep-water harbours, with large graving docks and extensive along-side deepwater berthing. A&P Falmouth provides vital ship repair and in-service support to the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
The £12m shore power project will see A&P Falmouth provide the UK’s first multi-vessel flexible shore power connections on Cornwall’s Atlantic Peninsula in partnership with engineering design specialist Marine Zero. As well as reducing CO2 emissions, the technology will also reduce noise import.
The Falmouth, Atlantic & Peninsula Clean Shore Power Future project is part of the Zero Emissions Vessels and Infrastructure competition (ZEVI), which was announced in February 2023, funded by UK Government and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK.
As part of ZEVI, the Department for Transport allocated over £80m to 10 flagship projects supported by 52 organisations from across the UK to deliver real world demonstration R&D projects in clean maritime solutions. Projects will take place in multiple locations from the Orkney Isles to the Southwest of England.
A&P Falmouth has partnered with Marine Zero for the design and specification of the multiple 1.5MVA shore power systems. The project will be scalable to meet future increased capacity demands of larger vessels and additional connections at A&P Falmouth. Work is already underway and is expected to be completed by Q1 2025.
Mike Spicer, Managing Director of A&P Falmouth said: “Sustainable shore power plays a vital role in global and national efforts to reduce the impact of the maritime industry on the environment. Our strategy at A&P Falmouth is to achieve net zero across our operations by 2030, so this hugely exciting project will be a significant milestone on that journey. It is testament to the strength of our bid and our reputation in the industry that we were chosen by UK Government to be one of the recipients of this funding.”
Andy Hurley, Marine Zero director, said: “There is no doubt that shore power will play a critical role in reducing emissions for vessels at berth. We are delighted to be partnering with A&P Falmouth as they take this major step towards their net zero future.
“Installing shore power is a complex challenge, particularly at a large multi-vessel shipyard such as A&P Falmouth. The UK Government’s ZEVI award is a significant and welcome recognition – both of the relevance and wider impact of clean maritime solutions, as well as our technical capability and ambition to deliver them.”
Announcing the winning bids, Transport Secretary Mark Harper, said: “All of our winners are at the cutting edge of the nation’s maritime industry – a crucial part of this government’s plan to grow the economy, creating better-paid jobs and opportunity right across the UK.”
ZEVI is part of the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emission’s (UK SHORE), focused on clean maritime technologies that can be scaled rapidly to decarbonise the UK’s domestic maritime sector. In March 2022, the Department announced the biggest government investment ever in our UK commercial maritime sector, allocating £206m to UK SHORE, a new division within the Department for Transport focused on decarbonising the maritime sector. UK SHORE is delivering a suite of interventions throughout 2022-2025 aimed at accelerating the design, manufacture and operation of UK-made clean maritime technologies and unlocking an industry-led transition to Net Zero.
