Stillstrom by Maersk and the Port of Rønne have begun a joint study examining how Denmark’s planned Energy Island Bornholm could help accelerate large-scale maritime electrification across the Baltic Sea.
Their white paper, Energy Island Bornholm Powering Maritime Electrification, explores how offshore wind generation and future grid capacity could support charging for electric ferries, cargo ships and offshore service vessels. The aim is to understand how renewable power could underpin a shift toward battery-powered fleets and reduce reliance on marine gas oil on one of Europe’s busiest shipping routes.
According to Stillstrom, conventional cargo vessels passing Bornholm consume significant volumes of fossil fuel every year. As battery technology matures, the company believes that electrifying this traffic could require about 17TWh of additional electricity but could displace roughly three million metric tons of marine gas oil annually and reduce oil imports by an estimated €2bn (US$2.33bn).
“Maritime electrification is the next frontier of Europe’s green transition,” said Sune Strøm, senior regulatory and public affairs manager at Stillstrom. “But for shipowners to invest in battery-powered vessels, charging infrastructure must be built ahead of demand – both offshore and in ports. Energy Island Bornholm offers a unique opportunity to demonstrate how offshore wind energy can support vessel charging in one of Europe’s busiest shipping corridors.”
As a TEN-T Comprehensive port, the Port of Rønne is contributing operational insight into the types of infrastructure likely to be required as shipping moves toward electrification. This includes potential needs for high-capacity ferry charging, clean shore power for cruise vessels and offshore charging points for service craft.
Jeppe la Cour, CCO of the Port of Rønne, commented, “Energy Island Bornholm gives us a valuable opportunity to better understand what future maritime energy needs might look like. Our contribution to this collaboration is to share operational insights and explore how different charging scenarios could work in practice. With our central location in the Baltic Sea, we see a natural role in helping to qualify the discussion about what will be required to support the wider transition.”
The white paper is intended to act as a scalable model for other European ports and offshore hubs preparing for the next phase of maritime electrification. Publication is planned for Q1 2026.
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