Commitment 02Read more
Energy Transition and the Circular Economy
Innovative and sustainable solutions for energy and industry in city-port regions
Committing the City Port territory to achieving a low carbon, low resources society, through the transformation of industrial production, and the production and management of carbon-neutral, renewable energies.
How to secure low-carbon energy sources for port-city territories and optimise energy use?
Water, present by definition in all port territories, is a natural asset and energy source. Faced with the challenge of climate change, using water in port basins as an energy source represents a sustainable economic concept that port cities can exploit. Different technologies can be used to generate electricity, such as mini hydroelectric plants, watermills, ocean waves, and geothermal energy. In Marseille, two projects use marine geothermal-related networks to suppress the energy demand of growing districts in a renewable way.
This good practice also includes objective 9.2 (Optimising the use and management of fresh and seawater in ports) of the AIVP’s 2030 Agenda.
In 2016, France inaugurated its first marine geothermal power station. Located in Marseille, Thassalia / Engie Cofely, work began on the new installation in September 2014, and the plan was that it would be used to run the air-conditioning inside the buildings (housing, hotels, and offices), making up the planned Euromed Centre, located behind the Silo d’Arenc. The marine geothermal technology uses the difference in temperature between hot surface water and cold water from the seabed. Pipelines pump the water, and heat exchangers and heat pumps create hot or cold water as needed. The water is then sent to buildings for heating or cooling purposes. Until 2020, the power plant had supplied 500,000 m² of offices and, in 2021, was also applied to the 63,000 m² of Les Terrasses du Port shopping centre. Implementing the power station also helped create 60 direct and indirect jobs, reduced noise and the need for cooling towers on buildings, and helped save 70% of CO2 emissions, minimise energy use by 40%, and water consumption by 65%.
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