Brake Port is a hive of activity for both transshipment and sustainability, with projects ranging from fields of flowers and the recently completed full transition to LED lights at NPorts, to construction of Lower Saxony’s largest rooftop photovoltaic system at port logistics specialist J. MÜLLER.
the multifunctional Brake seaport has a riverside quay some 2.5 kilometres in length with eight berths.
Credits: J. Müller (2x), Claudia Behrend (2x), NPorts
A large field of flowers was also planted in collaboration with NABU, a nature conservation union. Pupils involved in Umwelt-AG at the secondary school in Brake have built and colourfully painted nesting boxes for starlings and tits, which now hang in the trees there. Insects can enjoy deadwood hedges and even a specially built “hotel”. But the idea to make the entire area greener and friendlier to insects did not come from the public port operator’s boardroom, but rather the workforce, reports Franziska Walther, Deputy Manager of the NPorts branch in Brake. That includes some employees who have donated cuttings from their own gardens. For larger events such as the official opening of the large berth last year, the tables are adorned with green plants, which are then planted in the garden, rather than with cut flowers.
The vegetation is watered with rainwater from the company’s water butt. “The greenery project is ongoing,” emphasises Walther. The project should make sustainability and development more visible and tangible – also for the sake of the local residents who use the garden as a public park. The space also provides employees with a green environment for breaks and meetings.
Groundwater friendly sweeper
There are also numerous sustainability projects underway in the port area itself. One such example is the sweeper, which cleans the grounds, including the rails, to keep particles out of the Weser. Rather than using drinking water as in the past, the sweeper relies on water which has been used to rinse the pipes that deliver fresh water to the ships.
Elfi Bargmann from the Technical Department is in charge of looking after green spaces in the port area. “We have 11.2 hectares of lawn here, but now only mow 17 per cent of that – just once or twice a year,” she explains. Spaces are gradually being transformed, and even vertical surfaces like noise barriers are being planted with climbing hydrangeas and grape ivy. This is also the case with new premises by port customers, which is subject to the same requirements.
To ensure that NPorts and its customers in Brake are not working independently on similar ideas potentially with comparable challenges, Walther has established a regular port event with a focus on sustainability. Though external parties are occasionally invited to attend, the primary purpose of the event is to provide NPorts and companies connected to Brake Port with the opportunity to share information.
Rooftop photovoltaic system
The group would have never been able to complete the project that J. MÜLLER is so proud of without the support of partners such as Commerzbank, construction company Björn & Peter Renken, the developer of the automation concept SCHULZ Systemtechnik and supply company EWE NETZ. This project is the photovoltaic (PV) system spread out across ten hall roofs, which was activated last April.
With a total surface area of of 62,100 square metres and the modules’ peak power of 12.8 megawatts peak, it is the largest rooftop system in Lower Saxony. “The solar yield of 959 kilowatt hours per kilowatt peak installed should reduce annual CO2 emissions by 5,804,000 kilograms,” reports Cedric Witten, Head of Technology and IT at J. MÜLLER. A total of eleven million euros was invested.
“The idea behind it came about six years ago, but was further established with the attack on Ukraine, when energy was difficult to obtain and became increasingly expensive,” recalls Witten. “We now produce more than 31 per cent of the electricity we need in-house.” And the next project is already in the pipeline. “Excess electricity fed into the public grid will be used by ourselves from 2025, using a storage battery with one to four megawatts,” says Witten.
Siding track radar project
With the support of the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport through the “Digital Test Beds at Ports” (Digi-Test) funding guidelines, a project for digitalising the wagon counting process was completed at NPorts in late September. Due to the sheer size of the port infrastructure, with 33 kilometres of track and 100 railway points, NPorts was always dependent on figures provided by the railway companies. “Ideally, the companies would provide this information in Excel,” says Romina Hanisch, Radar Project Manager. “Checks could only be performed at random. But we need reliable data.”
Rather than expensive standard systems with optical character recognition (OCR), NPorts now relies on conventional camera technology. Down-stream OCR can then read the number on containers and hazardous goods seals when trains pass by at 15 to 25 kilometres per hour. That not only increases invoice precision, efficiency in infrastructure use, and savings through fewer dispatcher checks, but also boosts synergy effects such as shorter standing times and reduced energy consumption and emissions.
Reducing electricity consumption is also high up on the agenda for Olaf Eden, who is responsible for electrical engineering in Brake. For example, all medium-voltage switchgears and 20-kilovolt oil transformers were either built new or renovated between 2019 and 2021. The substantial increase
in efficiency resulted in energy savings of around twelve per cent. Launched in 2015, the project for replacing the 1,040 exterior lights with LEDs was successfully completed in 2024 with an investment of 500,000 euros. That and the introduction of motion sensor control reduced energy consumption by around 41 per cent – also good for the company’s reputation. (cb)
