ShoreBox Offers Convenient Shore Power

Schneider Electric is aiming to revolutionize the ship-to-shore energy management systems market with its new ShoreBoX system, thanks to its portable modularity.

In harbor cities, ship emissions can be a major source of urban pollution. Shorepower enables a ship to plug into the electrical grid at berth and switch off its own engines to reduce emissions and noise within the port community. Some issues remain before shorepower can be adopted on a global scale. Some older ships, for example, don’t have the facility to plug into a shoreside connection. Significant progress is being made in converting older ships to have this capability while at berth. 

Canada is a leading global proponent of shorepower as a result of Transport Canada’s successful Shore Power Technology for Ports program. ShoreBoX is an all-in-one integrated solution, adaptable to any port context. It is easy to install and use, according to Bill Jackson,
Schneider Electric’s marine sector manager in Canada. 

The ShoreBoX is the result of a heavy investment in research and development over the last few years. In 2012 Schneider Electric invested nearly five per cent of its $36 billion dollars in total sales into research.

At one of its main facilities in Grenoble, France, the 3 MVA ShoreBoX prototype – approximately the size of a shipping container to facilitate road transport –has thoroughly been tested with a medium voltage supply of 6.6 kilovolts, which simulates a real-life port context. ShoreBoX has also been trialed in a real-port environment in Morocco where two boxes have been installed for naval frigates.

Shorepower is already recognized as an important way forward to save costs and reduce emissions for ports. It is available at more than 100 berths worldwide, with Schneider Electric providing almost half of those systems.