Funding the Ports That Will Power Europe’s Energy Transition

EU funding is helping turn Europe’s maritime climate ambitions into infrastructure, with Malta showing how targeted investment can deliver tangible decarbonisation results.

By Rodrick Zerafa, Chief Executive Officer, Servizzi Ewropej f’Malta

Europe’s maritime transition is moving from policy ambition to an infrastructure challenge. Regulations, technologies and climate targets are increasingly aligned, but the decisive question is now whether investment can be mobilised quickly enough to turn those ambitions into operational systems.

The European Union (EU) has created a strong policy framework for maritime decarbonisation. The FuelEU Maritime Regulation requires passenger and container ships, from January 1 2030, to use onshore power supply or another zero-emission technology while at berth in Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) maritime ports covered by the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation.

These obligations set out a clear direction for the future of the maritime sector. However, regulation alone cannot make this shift towards decarbonisation a reality.

This is where EU funding matters.

The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) is one of the key EU funding instruments available for this purpose. CEF Transport has a budget of €25.8 billion for 2021–2027 to support the development and modernisation of the trans-European transport network (TEN-T). In June 2026, the European Commission launched a further €1.1 billion CEF Transport call covering, among other priorities, electricity charging infrastructure in maritime and inland ports and the equipping of vessels for alternative fuels.

Alongside the CEF, the Just Transition Fund (JTF) provides another important source of support for investments linked to the transition towards climate neutrality. As part of EU’s Cohesion Policy and the wider Just Transition Mechanism, the JTF is designed to support territories facing the economic, social and environmental impacts of the green transition. For 2021–2027, the JTF has a total allocation of around €19.7 billion across the EU, providing targeted support for regions most affected by the transition.

The significance goes beyond individual grants.

Well-designed public funding can reduce investment barriers, accelerate strategically important projects and help mobilise complementary national and private investment. It can also encourage infrastructure to be planned as part of a system rather than as a collection of isolated assets.

Malta provides a practical example of how EU funding can translate regulatory ambition into infrastructure on the ground.

In the Grand Harbour, Onshore Power Supply investment is being delivered in two phases with a combined estimated value of approximately €68.77 million.

Phase I, now completed, represented €25.77 million in eligible costs, with €21.91 million provided through the CEF. It introduced shore-to-ship electricity at the main cruise quays, where 17 connection points have been installed. As more cruise liners connect to shore-side electricity while berthed, Infrastructure Malta estimates that air pollution in the Grand Harbour is reduced by 90%

Phase II, with an estimated total value of approximately €43 million, is extending Onshore Power Supply across the southern Grand Harbour. Around €23 million is being financed through the JTF, while a CEF backed project worth €15.02 million includes €12.76 million in EU grant support; and the rest is covered by national funding. The infrastructure will be installed at Ras Ħanżir Wharf, Laboratory Wharf, Magazine Wharf, two quays within Palumbo Shipyard and the Mediterranean Maritime Hub. This investment will add 24 connection points, enabling a wide range of vessels berthed in these areas to connect to shore-side electricity.

Onshore Power Supply is also being extended at Malta Freeport through complementary JTF and CEF backed projects. The first, covering North Quay Terminal 1 and North Quay Terminal 2, represents an investment of around €13 million, with €9.8 million financed through the JTF. The second will extend the infrastructure to South Quay Terminal 2 and West Quay Terminal 1, representing a further €18.39 million investment, including approximately €12.36 million in EU grant support through the CEF. These projects will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and noise pollution, contributing to cleaner and healthier environment around the Freeport, which is located close to residential, business and tourism areas.

Together, these investments show how different EU funding instruments can be combined to support a wider maritime decarbonisation strategy.

While Malta’s experience demonstrates what can be achieved through targeted investment, the scale of the challenge across Europe remains significant.

The European Environment Agency reports that only 40% of EU-27 TEN-T core ports are equipped with shore-side electricity supply, across 461 berths. The regulatory direction is increasingly clear, but deployment still needs to scale.

The challenge for Europe is therefore not simply to identify the technologies needed to decarbonise its ports, but to turn those technologies into viable projects and ensure they can access the investment needed for delivery.

Strategic funding can help bridge that gap. By supporting projects that are technically sound, strategically relevant and capable of delivering measurable results, EU funding can help turn regulatory ambition into infrastructure that is cleaner, more resilient and better integrated with Europe’s wider energy and transport systems.

Europe has set the direction. The next step is to make sure that investment keeps pace with ambition.