APM Terminals will collaborate with Siemens Limited India aiming to eliminate emissions by 30-40% at Gateway Terminals India (GTI) in the port of Mumbai.
The APM Terminals-operated GTI, which utilises a combination of diesel and electric-powered equipment, in 2020 alone consumed 5.8 million litres of diesel and 25 Giga Watt hours of electricity, resulting in an emission of 66,847 tonnes of CO2 in scope 1 (fuel-based) and 84,429 tonnes of CO2 in scope 2 (emissions from the generation of purchased electricity).
To find scalable and efficient solutions for decreasing these emissions, APM Terminals has engaged Siemens in a pilot project aimed at establishing the baseline of GTI’s energy consumption patterns through continuous measurement of all energy consumers.
The pilot project also comprises defining, verifying and implementing possible energy optimisation measures, known as Facility Improvement Measures (FIM), which would entail verification of actual energy consumption, as well as emission reduction achieved.
More specifically, the measures include transformer optimisation, which will help diminish energy loss by intelligently switching the transformers, as well as rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) hybridisation, which will replace conventional diesel engines with batteries and will help save fuel.
Two more measures are the optimisation of reefer facilities, projected to reduce energy peek and demand, improve reliability and increase flexibility, and the implementation of local solar photovoltaic (PV) infrastructure, which will provide the terminal with cleaner energy, lessen grid supply and peaks and bring additional flexibility to energy sourcing.
APM Terminals and Siemens estimate that the proposed measures should help emission reduction of almost 40% on Scope 1 emissions (fuel) and 16%-20% on Scope 2 emissions (from purchased electricity) at GTI which is one of the busiest container terminals in India, comprising 10% of the country’s container trade.
“We are conscious of our carbon footprint, but also of our responsibility for finding all possible ways of reducing them,” noted Girish Aggarwal, Chief Operating Officer at APM Terminals Mumbai (GTI), who added, “the partnership with Siemens allows us to successfully address this issue not only at GTI but also convert it into a scalable solution for implementation in other terminals.”
In addition, the pilot program will use Siemens’ digital platform solution, including integration into APM Terminals’ IT and digital architecture and compliance with terminal operator’s IT, cyber security and data requirements, according to a statement.
Robert H K Demann, Head, Smart Infrastructure, Siemens Limited, stated that the company’s aim is to empower customers in their digital transformation and achieving their sustainability goals.
Furthermore, according to Demann, Siemens’ technologies which include microgrid solutions, energy efficiency analytics and integration of renewables, will contribute to GTI achieving their ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) targets of decarbonisation, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and energy efficiency.
Additionally, the companies will work on further energy optimisation and green energy sourcing programs across APM Terminals’ portfolio globally with the baseline requirements for such large scale operations being the high energy consumption.
As the next step, APM Terminals plans to roll out terminal-specific improvement measures across a wider portfolio of terminals, with the aim of achieving similar emission reduction globally.
