The Port of Aarhus has connected the first container ship to its new shore power system (OPS) as part of commissioning trials ahead of its planned entry into daily operation in January 2027.
Eimskip’s 2,150 TEU vessel Dettifoss received around 6.5 MWh of electricity during a connection lasting nearly 10 hours. Further vessel trials are planned in the coming weeks.
The facility, located at the APM Terminals-operated container terminal, will allow ships to switch off auxiliary diesel engines while alongside and draw electricity from shore to power onboard systems and refrigerated containers. The port expects the installation to reduce noise and local particulate pollution. The OPS system has been described as Denmark’s first shore power facility for large container ships.
“Shore power for container ships is an important step in the development of a more sustainable port. As a hub for freight transport, through which the majority of the country’s container cargo passes, it is also important for our competitiveness and the green transition that we have established the facility,” says Ulrik Andersen, CEO of the Port of Aarhus.
“We have been using shore power for some time in Iceland, so being able to help get the facility up and running in Aarhus is a big deal. It is important for us to contribute to the green transition in container shipping,” says Thomas Breth Clausen, Managing Director at Eimskip Denmark.
The shore power system was supplied by Danish engineering company PowerCon, which provided the transformer station and power management system, while ShibataFenderTeam and igus supplied the mobile cable management system, designed to accommodate varying vessel positions along the quay. Once fully built out, the 16 MVA shore power system will be capable of supplying up to four container ships simultaneously. The project forms part of the wider EU-backed OPS Network initiative, which has secured €18.8m from the Connecting Europe Facility to support shore power installations at Aarhus, Gothenburg, Bremerhaven and Stockholm.
Aarhus already operates a separate shore power facility for cruise ships, inaugurated in June 2023 as Denmark’s first installation of its kind. During the first full season of operation in 2024, 68% of cruise ships calling at the port connected to shore power. That figure rose to around 80% in 2025, according to the port’s own figures. The cruise facility, located at quays 129–131, can supply up to 10 MW and was also supplied by PowerCon.
Representatives of the Port of Aarhus will join the session “Installing OPS at Container Terminals” at this year’s WCN Shore Power Summit, taking place in Rotterdam on November 18–19, 2026. The port’s COO Anne Zachariassen alongside speakers from ABB, APM Terminals and Arcadis, will discuss how to install shore power while keeping container terminal operations running. Seats are filling up fast. View the full programme and register here.