Together with the Port of Aarhus, AIDA Cruises celebrated the opening of the first shore power facility for cruise ships on June 20, 2023, according to AIDA Cruises's release. AIDAmar was successfully supplied with energy from shore in regular operation. Prior to this, AIDA Cruises already supported its Danish partner in the preparations for the commissioning of the newly built plant. In April this year, AIDAsol was the first cruise ship to successfully complete shore-side and shipboard integration tests.
AIDA Cruises has been considering the use of shore power in the planning and construction of its ships since 2004. On the shore side, another ten years passed before the company could start regular operations with a cruise ship at Europe's first shore power facility in Hamburg Altona in 2017. Since 2021, AIDA ships have also been able to use shore power from renewable energies in Kiel and Rostock-Warnemünde. Thanks to the opening of further facilities in its European cruise destinations, the company extended the use of shore power to ports in Norway and the UK in 2022.
Innovation leader AIDA Cruises has been investing in a future-proof and sustainable cruise market for many years as part of its Green Cruising strategy. In addition to the use of low-emission liquefied natural gas (LNG) as an important bridging technology, AIDA Cruises is expanding the use of alternative energy sources such as shore power or batteries to operate its cruise ships. Together with various partners, the cruise company is working intensively on further solutions on how to use fuel cells or regenerative and synthetic fuels in the future and is evaluating several technologies to put into practice. As part of the Carnival Corporation & plc family of cruise brands, AIDA Cruises aims to achieve net-carbon-neutral ship operation for its fleet by 2050.