Antwerp Terminal Services (ATS), a joint venture between MSC PSA Europe Terminal (MPET) and PSA Antwerp (PSAA), launched the world’s first H2 dual fuel straddle carrier in the Port of Antwerp.
In particular, by using state-of-the-art H2 dual fuel combustion engine technology, developed by cleantech company CMB.TECH and integrated into a straddle carrier with the support of ATS, the machine runs on a mix of hydrogen and diesel.
In line with the UN Paris Climate Agreement and the EU Green Deal, ATS, MPET and PSAA aim to reduce their carbon emissions, as part of their plans to reach these objectives, the partners are going to launch into operations of a dual fuel straddle carrier, which injects hydrogen into its diesel combustion engine.
In addition, the dual fuel technology is able to replace 70% of diesel consumption with hydrogen on new straddle carriers, with the eventual goal of 100% hydrogen injection.
Following a 24-month design and development phase, the partners will now start testing the dual fuel straddle carrier’s performance in live operations at PSAA’s Noordzee Terminal.
They will evaluate how to improve the design of the equipment, as well as other factors that are necessary to scale up this new technology, including the supply and storage of hydrogen for an entire fleet.
Moreover, this next stage is supported by PIONEERS, a project funded by the European Union and coordinated by the Port of Antwerp-Bruges.
Roy Campe, CTO of CMB.TECH, commented, "Ports have already been identified as hotspots for hydrogen technology. Because of the heavy use of straddle carriers, dual fuel technology can offer the right balance between lowering emissions and retaining operational performance, robustness and cost-effectiveness."
