The modules that make up the OPS are already installed at the Grimaldi terminal on Sant Bertran wharf.

The Port of Barcelona's first Onshore Power Supply (OPS) system for ferries is already at the Grimaldi terminal on Sant Bertran wharf. This installation marks the beginning of the countdown to bring the system on stream by January, to allow ferries arriving at the commercial wharf closest to the city to turn off their engines and run on 100% renewable origin electricity that will be supplied by the OPS, thus reducing the emissions and noise they generate. 

The OPS has been developed by VINCI Energies Spain, which won the contract to install the system in a “turnkey” format and has extensive international experience rolling out OPS systems like the one being installed on Sant Bertran wharf. The OPS will serve two ferry berths in the terminal, providing an initial power of 4MVA, expandable up to 6.5MVA, and is designed to adapt the voltage and frequency to the specific needs of each vessel. 

The installation of the OPS was preceded by civil engineering works to bring the medium-voltage network to the terminal and roll out the OPS connections to the quayside. The assembly of this OPS will be completed in mid-December with the arrival of a Cable Management System (CMS) designed specifically to integrate into the operations of the terminal and provide flexibility to connect the different ferries that dock there. 

Coinciding with the installation work of the new system, Grimaldi has brought back into service its Ciudad de Palma ferry, which has now been adapted to connect to the OPS and stop its engines while moored at the Port of Barcelona. Thanks to these changes, provided for in the agreement that Grimaldi and the Port of Barcelona signed in February 2022, the OPS can make daily connections as soon as it comes on stream, thereby maximising emissions savings. 

As in the case of the OPS of the Port of Barcelona's BEST terminal, which is the first in the Mediterranean in a container terminal, the Grimaldi terminal OPS will operate for the first two years in a pilot phase, allowing the terminal's operators and the Port of Barcelona to understand at first hand what the needs of this pioneering service are, as they move together towards decarbonisation. 

José Alberto Carbonell, president of the Port of Barcelona, underscored the importance of the Grimaldi terminal OPS, emphasising its proximity to the city of Barcelona. “With the OPS for ferries we will not only make port activity more sustainable, but we will contribute to improving the quality of the city's air and reducing noise where we can have the most impact, at the docks closest to the city centre.” 

Mario Massarotti, CEO of Grimaldi in Spain, stated that “this takes us one step closer to a zero-emissions operation of all our ferries that call at Barcelona. Both the Cruise and the ECO, vessels plying the routes to Italy, have a battery system allowing the engines to be turned off when the ships are at port. Thanks to this new infrastructure, the ferries of Trasmed, the company of the group that serves the market of the Balearic Islands, will also cease to produce emissions at the port.” 

Nexigen plan 

The Grimaldi OPS cost 3.5 million euros, which was partly funded via the Sustainable and Digital Transport Support Programme under the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. Over the next five years and with an investment of more than 200 million euros, the Port of Barcelona will roll out OPS systems to electrify its main docks thanks to the Nexigen plan. 

This roll-out will not only install OPS at the Port of Barcelona's main terminals, but also involves building a new electrical substation from which a new medium-voltage network will be rolled out throughout the port, including an underwater pipeline to connect the supplies of the Energy wharf and the Adossat wharf, which will make it possible to electrify the cruise terminals.