Following successful testing, the world’s first zero-emissions top handlers are now being used in daily operations at the Port of Los Angeles.
The battery-electric top handlers are a key component of the port’s US$7.7 million Everport Advanced Cargo-Handling Demonstration Project which is funded with a US$4.5 million sustainability grant from The California Energy Commission (CEC).
“We are pleased with performance results that we are receiving from drivers, mechanics and Everport management as the equipment is tested daily in real-world conditions,” said Gene Seroka, executive director, Port of Los Angeles.
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The two battery-electric top handlers were designed and built in the US by Taylor Machine Works, Inc. a leading heavy-duty equipment manufacturer and the largest supplier of top handlers in service at the port.
Each runs on a one-megawatt battery designed to operate for up to 18 hours between charges and is equipped with a data logger for tracking hours of operation, charging frequency, energy usage and other performance indicators.
Mr. Seroka pointed out that the port is doing everything possible to advance commercially feasible solutions to meet its goal of transitioning all cargo-handling equipment to zero emissions by 2030.
The Everport demonstration is one of 16 projects in which the port is either the lead agency or a participant working with multiple partners to test near-zero-emissions and zero-emissions engines, emissions control technology and alternative fueling and charging stations.
In addition to the battery-electric top handlers, the projects include testing ultra-low NOx renewable natural gas equipment and fully battery-electric fuel cell heavy-duty trucks; battery-electric forklifts, yard tractors and rubber-tyred gantry cranes and emissions control equipment on large ships and harbour craft.
Eliminating tailpipe emissions from cargo-handling equipment is essential to achieving the Port’s larger goal of reducing greenhouse gases (GHGs) from all port-related sources. Port targets call for reducing GHGs 40% below 1990 levels by 2030 and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.
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