Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) will be introducing lithium-ion battery powered container transports to move containers at HHLA Container Terminal Alternwerder (CTA) between ships and the yard, in an effort to improve the Hamburg’s air quality.
The new vehicles will be totally emission-free and three times more fuel efficient than previous diesel-powered models – featuring a charge time of only one and a half hours.
They will also help stabilize the power grid at the port, by precisely extracting or feeding energy as necessary when positioned at a charging station.
Integrated software will track the amount of renewable energy being generated and will signal for the AGVs to feed energy back into the grid if there is a shortage – and will act similarly in the case of an energy surplus, signalling for the AGVs to begin charging.
This system allows the AGVs to work as flexible power storage units to help balance the gap between power generation and consumption.
The Ministry of Environment and Energy will provide approximately €8 million in funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for HHLA’s energy transition project.
Lithium-ion battery-powered automatic guided vehicles (or AGV) have been successfully prototyped at CTA since autumn 2016 – leaving the terminal with six function charging stations for the vehicles already installed.
Throughout the coming weeks 25 electric AGVs will become operational at the CTA – and by the end of 2022 almost 100 AGVs at the terminal will be switched over to a lithium-ion battery drive, and over 18 charging stations will be installed.
HHLA estimate that the switch to electric AGV’s will reduce the annual emissions of CO2 by 15,500 tonnes and nitrogen oxide by 118 tonnes.
