The first H2 dual fuel straddle carrier in the world was formally introduced in the Port of Antwerp by Antwerp Terminal Services (ATS), a joint venture between MSC PSA Europe Terminal (MPET) and PSA Antwerp (PSAA).
The equipment works on a mixture of hydrogen and diesel thanks to H2 dual fuel combustion engine technology, which was created by cleantech company CMB.TECH and fitted into a straddle carrier with the help of ATS. As a result, it may be crucial in lowering final greenhouse gas emissions.
ATS, MPET, and PSAA want to cut their carbon emissions by 50% by 2030, using 2019 as a baseline, and to achieve net-zero emissions for all of their terminals by 2050, in accordance with the UN Paris Climate Agreement and the EU Green Deal. The partners today announced the entry into service of a dual fuel straddle carrier that injects hydrogen into its diesel combustion engine as part of their strategies to accomplish these goals.
In conjunction with ATS and equipment manufacturers, CMB.TECH, an Antwerp-based cleantech firm with expertise in large marine and industrial applications fueled by hydrogen and ammonia, was in charge of integrating the technology and accompanying know-how to design and construct this first prototype. In modern straddle carriers, the dual fuel technology can replace 70% of the diesel usage with hydrogen, with the ultimate goal of 100% hydrogen injection.
The partners will now begin evaluating the dual fuel straddle carrier’s performance in real-world operations at PSAA’s Noordzee Terminal after a 24-month design and development process. They will assess ways to make the equipment’s design better as well as other elements needed to scale up this novel technology, such as the provision and storage of hydrogen for a whole fleet. The PIONEERS project, financed by the EU and managed by the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, is helping to support this next phase. It is a component of the Horizon 2020 initiative, which encourages and supports the creation of particular strategies to lower carbon emissions in the port industry with the goal of converting ports into green infrastructures by 2050.
The MPET & PSAA Green Straddle Carrier Program, in which the terminal operators are holistically evaluating four major technological pathways to significantly reduce these vehicles’ carbon emissions in their actual working environment, includes tests with the first dual fuel hydrogen straddle carrier prototypes. The outcomes of the tests will determine which solution the partners ultimately scale up.
