Energy transition
The Port of Barcelona has begun the process of transition to an energy model based on three axes: renewable energy, energy storage and a smart electricity grid. This transition, together with the promotion of new "clean" fuels, will be key to advancing in decarbonisation.
Energy Transition Plan (ETP)
The Port of Barcelona has approved its Energy Transition Plan, a document derived from the IV Strategic Plan, which will define the port’s energy policy until 2040. For that year, it sets the objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 85% compared to 2017 levels, and lays out the path to becoming a zero‑emission port by 2050.
The Energy Transition Plan encompasses all the measures that the Port of Barcelona is implementing to decarbonize port activity, ensure the supply of sustainable energy—both environmentally and economically—and position itself as a leading hub for energy activities. The document sets an intermediate milestone of cutting emissions by 50% in 2030 compared to 2017, which will mean reducing emissions by one million tons between 2025 and 2030. This reduction is equivalent to the annual emissions of 240,000 cars.
However, the Energy Transition Plan goes beyond setting emission‑reduction targets to combat climate change. With it, the Port of Barcelona stops treating energy as a mere commodity and instead considers it a strategic factor, key to strengthening the competitiveness of the port and the surrounding territory in an increasingly demanding global market. At the same time, this transformation will consolidate the Port of Barcelona’s leadership both in the maritime and port sectors and across the entire logistics chain, driving the energy transition far beyond the port area itself.
Corporate video by the Port of Barcelona (1 min 48 s) presenting its Energy Transition Plan, with a Catalan voice-over (subtitled) and sweeping aerial shots of the port. It opens with the Port's logo on a black background and dawn footage of Montjuïc, the container terminal and gantry cranes hoisting containers, over which the title "Pla de Transició Energètica" appears. The video combines b-roll —fuel storage tanks, workers in orange overalls among red pipes and valves, the Port Vell with traditional boats, and warehouse roofs covered with solar panels— with animated graphic captions and icons that lay out the plan's pillars and targets: Decarbonisation, Sustainability, Resilience and Innovation. Over the aerial views of the container terminal, data graphics show the greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions-reduction milestones: −50% by 2030, −85% by 2040 and a "Port Neutre" (net-zero emissions) by 2050. Further targets are illustrated with matching footage: 65% (2030) and 90% (2050) of container-ship and cruise calls connected to onshore power supply (OPS); 50% of port activity electrified by 2030; new rail accesses and terminals; local generation of 100 MWp of photovoltaic energy; production of 100,000 tonnes of sustainable fuel; green maritime corridors (with an LNG vessel and a cruise ship); clean fuels made from CO₂; a hub for new fuels; and €1,700M of public-private investment. The video closes with dawn shots of the port and the harbour-mouth lighthouse, and the Port of Barcelona logo.
To achieve the necessary conclusions to draw up this new strategy that marks the Energy Transition Plan, a meticulous study process of the port system is carried out:
- Analysis of the applicable regulations
- Infrastructures and facilities for the energy transition.
- GHG emission sources.
- Energy consumption in the port.
- Planning of available spaces
The main areas of action that the ETP develop are:
Nexigen, electrification by the Port of Barcelona
Port Projects with Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
Photovoltaic potential
The Fisherman's Wharf, an energy island pilot project
One of the first shared energy consumption pilots has started at the muelle de Pescadors (Fisherman's Wharf), with the collaboration of the Barcelona Fishermen's Guild and within the European project Creators (CREATing cOmmunity eneRgy Systems).
It consists of the installation of 3 integrated solar photovoltaic systems on the roofs of the dock buildings, to generate and share energy. The goal is to turn this area into an energy island with zero emissions.
Related news and agenda
-
Institutional
The ports of Barcelona and Shanghai sign an agreement to strengthen their relationship and create a green corridor
04 August 2025 -
Port of Barcelona
The Port of Barcelona officially opens its first OPS system at the Hutchison Ports BEST terminal
12 July 2024
