NatPower Marine says Heysham will be the starting point for the UK’s first green shipping corridor.

The first plug is scheduled to go live in 2026, with expansion to four across all berths. The project is estimated to result in the reduction of more than 10,000t of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

“This will enable all Heysham routes within the Irish sea to operate with zero emissions while at berth and at sea, supporting full electric propulsion of the ferry services, as the first part of the full electrification of the Irish sea,” the companies said.

The £10m scheme forms part of a wider £100m roll-out of e-ship charging infrastructure across Peel Ports Group locations. NatPower Marine will deliver the equipment while Peel Ports provides site and operational support. The Heysham development is also the starting point for NatPower Marine’s planned clean port network in the Irish Sea, contributing to its global goal of building 120 sites by 2030.

Peel Ports said the investment would help position Heysham as the UK’s first net-zero port, building on the earlier efforts to cut landside emissions by up to 90%. When fully deployed across Peel Ports’ network, shore power could reduce annual emissions by 166,800t of CO2, alongside cuts in nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and methane.

“Heysham is where the UK’s first green shipping corridor becomes real. One plug will soon become four, serving every Heysham route to Ireland and giving operators the confidence to move quickly on vessel electrification. We are building the backbone of a clean shipping network so ferry and freight lines can invest in the next generation of zero-emission ships,” Martin Olverson Development Director Marine of NatPower Marine said.

“Shipping is already the greenest form of transport but there’s still a huge role for ports to play in decarbonising the supply chain. We can only do that with collaboration, innovation and long-term commitment from everyone involved, which this project embodies. However, this goes far beyond environmental goals. Ports are the lifeblood of UK plc and so many of our national economic and social ambitions rely on a thriving maritime sector,” Lewis McIntyre, Managing Director, Peel Ports Group, said.

To ensure the energy used at these ports is clean, NatPower is also developing over 12.5 GW of clean energy GigaParks projects in the UK, with 100 GWh of battery storage capacity, crucial for balancing intermittent demand, such as electric ship requirements for propulsion and cold ironing. NatPower believes these GigaParks will provide stable, clean electricity to its UK port network via direct power purchasing agreements or private wires.