From a technical standpoint, a key development in the straddle carrier sector is that Konecranes Noell is joining Kalmar as a supplier of automated SCs. Ports of Auckland Ltd (POAL) in New Zealand placed its order for 27 1-over-3 A-Strads with Terex Port Equipment towards the end of 2016, before the merger with Konecranes.

As previously reported, the new machines will work higher stacks than is possible with POAL’s existing manual SCs, and they will also handle road trucks, while the port’s existing 21 1-over-2 SCs will be upgraded with new controls and sensors, so they can operate safely between the quay and the automated stacks. Scope of supply includes the interchange system,  the TEAMS ECS and the Navimatic navigation system. The A-Strad package is also available as A-Sprinter with the cutdown 1-over-1 Sprinter machine.

Given Kalmar’s extensive references for AutoStrads in Australia, POAL’s commitment underscores how receptive Oceania is to a system that retains operating flexibility while reducing  labour costs, damage costs, etc.

Hybrid A-Strads

It also now transpires that the 27 AStrads for POAL will be fitted with Noell’s hybrid drive concept, which ‘recycles’ kinetic energy from lowering and braking into the supercaps as power via a dc conductor, with the diesel cutting in only when the supercaps are discharged.

POAL has confirmed to WorldCargo News that the last six manual diesel-electric SCs it acquired from Noell are also fitted with the hybrid drive. By opting for it with the A-Strads, it is  clearly satisfied with the performance. POAL has been using Noell SCs since 2003, and currently has a fleet of 40 machines.

In July, Konecranes Noell reported that a recent delivery to MPET Antwerp included the company’s 3,000th SC since it began production in 1968 (as Peiner). The machine is the latest  model NSC 634E diesel-electric (D-E) machine. This landmark follows the delivery of the 1,000th D-E Noell SC (by Terex) to NTB Bremerhaven in 2014.

The hydrostatic drive SC remains very much part of Konecranes Noell’s offer, however. Such machines have more moving/wearing parts than D-E drive machines, and this translates into more maintenance, so D-E drive is usually more suitable for terminals doing high annual running hours, as there is less downtime.

On the other hand, D-E machines are more expensive to buy, and require a higher skills level in the maintenance department, so operators have to weigh the pros and cons according to to their own circumstances.

At any rate, MPET is a key customer for Konecranes Noell. The operator currently has a fleet of 230 machines including 150 Noells, of which no less than 100 have been delivered since  2016.

Still, the ‘milestones’ are still somewhere behind Kalmar, which delivered its 5,000th SC (including industrial machines) in 2013 – an AutoStrad for Asciano Patrick in Port Botany.

There are no neutral assessments of fuel savings provided by hybrid drives known to WorldCargo News, but there is no doubt that the savings are real; the question is whether, given  the higher capital cost, the reduced operating costs translate into lower life costs.

A few years ago, Noell estimated,  based on machines then in the field, that up to 20% less diesel is consumed compared to the latest, state-of-the-art D-E machines, which are the  next best fuel-efficient alternative.

In June, Kalmar reported an order worth €13M from Virginia International Gateway (VIG) for 16 hybrid shuttle carriers, with an option for up to 40 more. According to Kalmar, testing  performed by VIG and the Finnish manufacturer over more than two years on the three hybrid machines already operating at VIG demonstrated a significantly improved total return on  investment, compared with conventional D-E machines, with fuel savings of almost 40%. In February 2016, when it announced an order for 19 Kalmar hybrid shuttle carriers for Vado,

APM Terminals said it expected fuel savings of 30%.

As 1-over-1 machines, shuttle carriers generate less lowering energy than a 1-over-2 (or, even better, a 1-over-3) straddle carrier, so it is not clear how savings on this scale can be  claimed, unless perhaps the comparisons are with D-E SCs stacking 1-over-2 or 1-over-3.

It is possible that the regenerative braking compensates for less lowering energy, as shuttle carriers would tend to be operated between the STS crane and ASC interface, close to the  quay apron, and brake frequently; however, in regular, smaller SC terminals, the machines also have many braking phases.

Optimised charging

Explaining the VIG fuel savings, Mikko Mononen, Kalmar’s VP, Intelligent Horizontal Transport Solutions, said that most of the saving is due to the fact that the diesel engine, coupled  with a generator, is applied only periodically, when the batteries require a charge, and then only at the most efficient speed range. Also, the diesel engine is much smaller than the one  fitted to regular D-E machines.

All the same, without knowing what the comparators are, one has to keep an open mind. Regular D-E SCs have been around for a long time now and Mikko Mononen also makes the  point that, over the past 10 years, there has been continuous progress in efficiency, exhausts, noise output, etc.

“Overall fuel efficiency has been improved, with improvements such as variable speed generators, diesel engine development and increasing use of electrical components instead of hydraulics,” he told WorldCargo News. “All of these improvements have led to our customers reporting 20% reduction in fuel consumption over the last 10 years.” He added that noise output at bystander level has been more than halved, and all developments have had to meet ever tighter EU and US EPA emission laws.

HHLA deal

Amongst other recent deals, earlier this year, Kalmar was awarded a contract for 11 1-over-2 DE SCs by Hamburg operator HHLA for operation at CTB Burchardkai, following the delivery of nine such machines in 2016.

CTB currently operates with eight ASC blocks, and four more are being prepared, so it might be thought that it would opt for shuttle carriers. However, HHLA’s head of corporate  communications, Torsten Engelhardt, told WorldCargo News that there is still a sizable SC direct operation at CTB, “so our SCs need to have the flexibility to work both systems”.

In theory, CTB can take advantage of the extra buffering capability – 3-high instead of 2-high with a shuttle carrier – at the ASC interface, but it is not known if it does so. Most of  HLA’s SCs are from Kalmar and Noell, and Engelhardt added that procurements follow talks with “several suppliers, and we will order from different suppliers in the future”.

All electric

Konecranes Gottwald’s launch of its AGV with lithium-ion battery pack and dynamic charging system earlier in the year is something its straddle customers are watching keenly.

Konecranes has an order from HHLA CTA Altenwerder for 25 such AGVs and six automated quick chargers. The batteries are charged in short bursts at charging stations on the terminal,  using an automated quick connection system, removing the need for the AGVs to visit a battery charging building.

In a statement to WorldCargo News, Konecranes said the equipment will be “a pacesetter for future drive solutions applied in other Konecranes port equipment for horizontal transport, including Konecranes Noell SCs and Sprinters”, with HHLA providing operating experience in 24/7 operations.

Introducing li-ion technology in SCs and Sprinters depends on how the battery performs, but Konecranes is optimistic. “Here, we seriously assume that li-ion batteries sufficient for straddle and Sprinter carrier operations will be available for reasonable cost in a few years time, which is the reason that we already started considering the use of this technology for  Konecranes Noell vehicles.

“Furthermore, it goes without saying that proven periphery equipment, like the automated quick chargers presently developed for the Konecranes Gottwald AGV, would be first choice for charging the batteries applied in straddle and Sprinter carriers.”

Different route

Konecranes Noell is going down a different route to the one that Kalmar took with its own FastCharge system, which was developed with an overhead pantograph to make the electrical connection between the machine and the charging system.

FastCharge was designed for manual and automated equipment, and Kalmar wanted to keep the connection point up high. “We decided originally to go with a charging connection located at the upper frame level due to safety,” explained Kalmar.

“In addition to impurities and debris, electrical components and  circuits at ground level always pose a higher risk of electrical shock or system fault from machine-to-machine and  machineto-container impacts.

“Also in manual operation, the driver is able to see the charging connection take place when it is happening near the driver’s line of sight.”

The charging connection system however, could be adapted if required. “Kalmar is constantly evaluating alternative charging connections for different machines and operations. Also, the charging technology itself, conductive versus wireless, is reviewed continuously,” the company added.

A bigger question might be whether terminal operators are ready for a full battery machine, as opposed to a diesel/battery hybrid unit. Kalmar notes that, although a fully electric  machine is a natural evolution of hybrid technology, it is still a new concept for terminal operators, and it “takes some time to get used to the idea of an absent diesel engine”.

Kalmar is confident that terminal operators will see the benefits, and “the electric evolution will begin to gain ground”, but the road is more difficult than with hybrid machines, due to  the necessary charging infrastructure. With a hybrid machine, terminal operators can test one machine in a fleet, but the fully electric concept does require some investment in  infrastructure.

Read this item in full
This complete item is approximately 2000 words in length, and appeared in the August 2017 issue of WorldCargo News, on page 25. To access this issue download the PDF here.