Hyster, an American forklifts and materials-handling equipment manufacturing company, has agreed to supply 10 battery-powered terminal tractors to APM Terminals – a shipping container terminal operator – in the Port of Mobile in Alabama.
The electric terminal tractors are designed to provide a zero-emission option to help terminals and port operations achieve clean energy targets while maintaining diesel-like performance levels.
Each tractor will be powered by a 260-kWh lithium-ion battery, which is projected to provide nearly 9.5 hours of continuous run time on a full charge.
The 10 terminal tractors will operate as a group to serve a ship-to-shore crane at APM Terminals Mobile. As the crane unloads containers from the ship, the electric tractors – each with an 182,000-pound gross combined weight rating – will transport laden and unladen containers between the crane and the yard.
The electric terminal tractors are scheduled to be delivered in 2024 and represent part of a $60 million investment in port equipment electrification pilots by APM Terminals to be net zero across all scopes by 2040.
“We are seeing a clear demand for zero-emission port equipment, including terminal tractor options. Our long history of electrifying forklifts and our work to electrify container handling equipment positions us to bring expertise and learnings to terminal tractors, so we are stepping in to deliver,” says Niek Willems, Manager of Big Truck Global Accounts at Hyster.
