Welcome to the Special Issue on Smart and Sustainable Ports

The electrification of ports and their transformation into smart energy infrastructures represent one of the most promising solutions toward the decarbonization of the maritime industry. With the ship-to-shore interconnection (cold ironing) being one of the key features to remove local air pollution, the integration of distributed energy resources within the port distribution network drastically enhances the complexity of the framework. In this new scenario, decision making and control are distributed, and a new combination of technologies and advanced management functionalities needs to be exploited. Concentrating on the smart energy transformation of ports, this special issue aims to cover most, if not all, of the most novel challenges raised.