The Port of Tauranga in New Zealand will trial the country’s first ever all-electric container straddle carrier. The trial of the carrier and associated charging infrastructure will go live in late 2027.
Electric operations
The trial, co-funded by the New Zealand government’s Low Emission Transport Fund administered by the EECA (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority), will see the port purchase a Kalmar electric straddle and install charging infrastructure in a project costing more than NZ$3.5m (US$2m). EECA will contribute NZ$447,000 (US$266,000) to the project to accelerate its implementation.
The trial will evaluate operational impacts, charging times, driver amenability and training requirements, reliability, safety and maintenance requirements. Findings will be shared with other New Zealand ports that have straddle carrier fleets.
Future impacts
The electric straddle trial, if successful, could lead to the rollout of electric straddles in the port’s purchase and retirement program. The port estimates that a full rollout could see an absolute reduction in combined Scope 1 and 2 emissions of approximately 43% on today’s emissions.
Leonard Sampson, chief executive of Port of Tauranga, said, “The trial would enable the port to test emerging technology in the high-demand environment of New Zealand’s international hub port. Diesel use in straddles is our largest source of carbon emissions, contributing around 54% of our Scope 1 emissions. Until now, we have only had the option of hybrid straddles as a lower emission alternative. The support of EECA makes it feasible for us to test the rapidly developing electric straddle technology in a New Zealand port context.”
“We hope the trial will give us confidence in operational efficacy, emissions reduction and technology reliability. It de-risks the implementation of new technology currently untested in New Zealand,” said Sampson. “Providing port assets and infrastructure consistent with a low emissions supply chain contributes to keeping New Zealand exports competitive internationally.”
In related news, electric straddle carriers were recently delivered to the Port of Barcelona, to help APM Terminals meet its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Read the full story here