PowerCon expands into wider port electrification

PowerCon is expanding its electrical engineering business beyond shore power into wider port electrification, with prefabricated substations becoming the first additional focus of its enlarged maritime infrastructure offer.

The Danish company plans to combine the substations with its existing shore power and charging systems, while adding battery energy storage, lifecycle services and operational support. Detailed equipment ratings and the first customer projects have not yet been announced, leaving the initial statement as a direction of travel rather than a completed product catalogue.

PowerCon chief executive Kim B. Larsen described port electrification as “a natural next step for PowerCon”, reflecting the overlap between the infrastructure already required for shore power and the broader electrical systems now appearing across terminals.

A shore power installation can itself require substantial upstream electrical work. High-capacity vessel connections need transformers, switchgear, cabling, protection, metering and grid connection capacity before the berth-side equipment can energise a ship. Moving into packaged substations therefore pushes PowerCon further into a part of the system that already sits behind many of its existing projects.

The same infrastructure is becoming relevant to other port loads. Electric cargo handling equipment, vehicle charging, refrigerated containers, buildings, workshops and battery systems can all increase demand on a terminal network, often while shore power introduces one of the largest individual loads on the site.

Those loads rarely operate at their theoretical maximum simultaneously, which makes system design more complicated than simply adding all nameplate ratings together. Engineers have to assess diversity, expected operating schedules, resilience requirements and the capacity available at the utility connection before selecting transformers, switchgear and distribution equipment.

Prefabricated substations can reduce some of the site work by assembling and testing equipment before delivery. That is particularly useful in ports, where space is expensive, operating areas may be difficult to close and construction has to be coordinated around vessel calls, cargo movement and other terminal activity.

The approach also fits PowerCon’s existing use of modular power conversion equipment. Shore power systems frequently concentrate converters and associated electrical components into compact buildings or containerised arrangements, allowing more work to be completed away from the final installation site and reducing the amount of assembly required on the quay.

Battery storage adds a further layer to the emerging port electrical system. A battery can be used to manage short periods of high demand, support charging infrastructure or reduce the effect of a constrained grid connection, depending on the controls and commercial arrangements. It also introduces another large bidirectional connection that has to be integrated with local protection and power management.

That matters because electrification does not necessarily produce a smooth increase in demand. A terminal can move rapidly from relatively modest consumption to a high-load condition when a vessel connects to shore power, several vehicles start charging or electrically driven cargo equipment operates together. Local storage can help manage peaks, but only if the control system understands both the battery state of charge and the electrical limits of the site.

As a result, port electrification increasingly resembles the design of a small industrial power system rather than the installation of isolated charging equipment. Substations, protection schemes, communications, energy management and redundancy have to operate as one system, particularly where interruption to power would halt vessel or cargo operations.

PowerCon’s decision to add lifecycle and operational services is therefore notable. Equipment installed in a marine environment has to remain available despite salt, moisture, vibration and intensive terminal use. Long-term maintenance and remote support can become as important as the original conversion equipment when a port begins relying on electrical infrastructure for everyday operation.

The company’s shore power background provides a direct route into that service model because a failed system can prevent a vessel from connecting and force auxiliary engines to remain running at berth. Wider terminal electrification raises the consequence further if the same supplier is also responsible for substations, charging or storage assets.

PowerCon has not yet published the electrical specification of its prefabricated substation range, so the extent to which units will be standardised remains unclear. Ports operate at different utility voltages and have widely varying load profiles, making complete standardisation difficult even where modular manufacturing can shorten delivery.

The company has said further information will follow, leaving project awards and technical configurations as the next useful evidence of how far the expansion moves beyond its established shore power business. The commercial opportunity is clear enough: terminal electrification is creating demand for substantially more equipment between the public grid and the final vessel or vehicle connection.

That upstream infrastructure is less visible than a charging point or shore power cable but determines whether the terminal can support those loads reliably. PowerCon’s expansion puts the company closer to that electrical backbone, beginning with substations and extending into storage, controls and long-term operation as ports add more electrically supplied equipment.