Ports need an intelligent socket

Dutch ports are under increasing pressure to make shore power available on a large scale, in line with ambitions to limit emissions and increase livability around ports. Last year it became clear that only about 20 percent of the required connections had been realized or contracted.

At the same time, the electrical grid in many port areas is already reaching its limits. The question is therefore how to design a port's energy infrastructure so that it can also handle tomorrow's electrification.

This complexity requires collaboration across disciplines. We are working together with Endenburg Elektrotechniek on this challenge. Director Rik Kant of Endenburg Elektrotechniek and Werner van Vliet, who is responsible for portfolio strategy around energy infrastructure at our company, see from their daily involvement in port infrastructure how electrification places new demands across partners in the supply chain.

Bigger challenge

Ports face a challenge that is bigger than installing a shore power connection, says Rik. The infrastructure must be reliable, safe, scalable and economically viable. We combine our knowledge of energy infrastructure, automation and energy management together with Endenburg: we supply the technology and components, Endenburg translates this as a system integrator into practice. "A port company doesn't need a solution from one supplier and an installation from another. It's about everything functioning well as a whole", says Rik.

This also demands something from the organization. Engineering, project management, service and data as well as automation experts must find each other early in the process, rather than only when the design is already fixed. For port companies, this saves considerably: they then don't see 20 separate disciplines, but one team responsible for a working system.

A plug is the easiest part

Shore power looks simple: ship on cable, generator off. According to Rik, the complexity lies mainly behind that plug. A ship requires different power at different times, and the shore infrastructure must be able to safely deliver that power within the capacity of the grid.

This includes transformers, medium voltage, protection, power quality and communication with the ship. Grid congestion, an increasingly pressing problem in ports like Rotterdam, also plays a role. The biggest challenge is not in one isolated factor like grid capacity, technology or regulation, but in the sum of all these, says Rick.

That's why Rik increasingly sees a shore power connection not as a standalone installation. He prefers to call it an energy hub within the port, where future power growth and additional connection points are already taken into account. Those who design only for today's demand risk running into limits in a few years.

open graph image - Electrification Port Rotterdam

Rik Kant, director of Endenburg Elektrotechniek and Werner van Vliet responsible for portfolio strategy around energy infrastructure at Siemens Netherlands.

The most important question is not where we can deploy AI, but what problem we want to solve with it.

Werner van Vliet, portfolio consultancy professional, Siemens Netherlands

From data to control

Where Rik highlights the physical side, Werner focuses mainly on the connection between those installations, OT and IT. Traditionally, data about energy, installations and maintenance were often available separately. By better connecting OT and IT, a more complete picture of power, consumption and performance emerges.

Not all data are equally valuable, emphasizes Werner. Power, load profiles, failures and component availability are relevant, but only when combined with operational information – such as which ship is at the quay when – does real control information emerge. This opens up space for Industrial AI, especially in recognizing unusual patterns before a failure occurs, and in predicting energy demand and maintenance. Fully autonomous control of a port energy system requires a different approach, in which safety and cybersecurity play a larger role. Cybersecurity must therefore be part of an installation from the design stage, not as a layer added afterwards.

The port of 2035

If ports want to scale up quickly in the coming years, standardization is essential according to both. Core technology, interfaces and control can be largely standardized, even though the physical situation differs per port. A modular approach with proven building blocks makes scaling faster and cheaper. This also requires a different view of costs: availability, maintenance and expandability weigh at least as heavily as the purchase price, especially over a lifespan of 15 to 20 years.

If the parties succeed in this, it should be noticeable in 5 years in higher availability, less unplanned downtime, lower energy loss and shorter lead times for new projects. Equally important: a port company then doesn't have to start from scratch every time the next electrification challenge presents itself.

Werner expects that a port in 2035 will mainly function as one integrated energy and data network, where grid capacity, local generation, storage and flexible consumption come together – and shore power is just one of many energy flows. Our ambition, together with Endenburg, is that the infrastructure being built now also enables tomorrow's port growth.

September 2026