Commitment 02Read more
Energy Transition and the Circular Economy
Innovative and sustainable solutions for energy and industry in city-port regions
Giving priority to circular economy projects as part of new partnerships between the city, port, businesses and civil society, and by supporting the development of port activities aimed at promoting exchanges and/or recycling of materials and energy.
How to redirect and reuse energy coming from the port to the city?
The battle against climate change necessitates innovative strategies to enhance the energy efficiency of both ports and cities. One approach, industrial ecology, hinges on collaborative efforts among social and economic actors who pool resources. It is rooted in sustainable development principles, striving to combat pollution and reduce resource and energy consumption. Using the heat created by industrial steam of the port areas creates a sustainable synergy between the port activities and the local population of the port. This is the case with the Pernis Residual Heat Initiative where the company Shell and the port authority of Rotterdam collaborated to find a sustainable solution for heating the city without using the burning of fossil fuels, but rather by using the already generated heat that was created by industrial activities of the port and unused.
This good practice also includes objective 4.4 (Developing collaborative approaches, drawing on scientific and technologic knowledge from the scientific community and civil society to support decision making) of the AIVP’s 2030 Agenda.
In 2013, the Port of Rotterdam embarked on the construction of the first of several kilometres of pipeline, designed to collect the high-temperature industrial steam produced in industrial port areas. Some 26 km of pipeline were laid to provide heating for 50,000 homes and a hospital. The project is part of a wider sustainable growth strategy adopted by the port of Rotterdam, which intends to bring together port and industrial requirements with the needs of the city.
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