A container shipping terminal at the Port of Long Beach (POLB) is now using new, zero-emissions cargo-handling tractors to test the readiness of the equipment to handle the workload at a busy seaport, according to an announcement by the Californian port.
The terminal located at the Port’s Pier G is operated by the International Transportation Service (ITS), which will demonstrate seven battery-electric yard tractors of the Chinese manufacturer, BYD, for one year.
Seven traditionally powered yard tractors annually emit 5kg of diesel particulate matter, 604kg of nitrogen oxides and 311 tonnes of greenhouse gases.
“We need equipment that can make it through an entire shift, with recharging during breaks,” pointed out POLB executive director, Mario Cordero, who went on to say, “That’s one of the requirements for zero-emissions equipment is to demonstrate that it can function in a real-world environment.”
The project is part of a US$9.7 million grant awarded by the California Energy Commission, which involves the design or creation of 21 new or converted electric cargo handling vehicles. The grant will pay for most of the US$13.7 million project intended to help commercialise vehicles that will move cargo sustainably at seaports all around the world and help the Port of Long Beach meet its goal of a zero-emissions cargo handling fleet by 2030.
As part of the project, Southern California Edison, a Californian electric company, also helped modernise the existing electrical infrastructure needed to support Port electrical equipment. The upgrade of the electrical infrastructure cost approximately US$450,000.
