APM Terminals reveals massive electrification investment in Rijeka Gateway

Rijeka Gateway in Croatia, a joint venture (JV) between APM Terminals and ENNA Logic, is getting more than 60 pieces of electric container handling equipment.

The investment will include four STS cranes, 15 rubber-tyred gantry cranes, two rail-mounted gantry cranes, 28 electric terminal tractors, and 14 electric vehicles.

The first batch of new terminal equipment is scheduled to arrive this July, with operations at the terminal set to start in 2025 with an annual capacity of 650,000 TEU.

As reported by WorldCargo News, Liebherr is providing 15 eRTGs and two eRMGs. All of the machines will be operated using the crane manufacturing company’s Remote Operator Stations (ROS).

The eRTGs are powered by electric busbar technology and feature drive-in auto-connect functionality. The Liebherr Liduro Power Port, a mobile lithium-ion battery provides power for cross-travelling between stacks and ensures operations are emission-free. The eRMGs will be used at the facility’s intermodal rail yard, thus ensuring that cargo-handling operations in this zone are also emissions-free.

Liebherr said the equipment along with the provision of the ROS would improve safety and productivity at the terminal while setting the stage for a “potential future transition to fully automated operation”.

WorldCargo News is awaiting a comment from APM Terminals and Rijeka Gateway on the suppliers of the remaining pieces of equipment.

“At APM Terminals, we have an ambitious goal of reaching Net-Zero by 2040. To reach this goal and decarbonise our operations, we need to reduce energy usage, replace fossil-fuel driven equipment with battery-electric and decarbonise our grid using renewable energy. Therefore, the investment in Rijeka Gateway is a major step in the right direction, which further builds upon the pilots that we are already running in various locations around the world,” says Sahar Rashidbeigi, Head of Decarbonisation in APM Terminals.

“I am proud that – with 95% of our equipment value being invested in electric assets – Rijeka Gateway will be an almost fully decarbonised container terminal. We are contributing to the creation of a better world for all. We are lifting standards of responsibility, not only for Rijeka, but the whole of Croatia,’’ said Koen Benders, Project Director Rijeka Gateway.

APM Terminals said that an investment of about EUR 100 million will be made in equipment for the new terminal, which celebrated its groundbreaking ceremony in September 2023.

The company believes that port electrification is the fastest way of achieving its net zero goals, together with optimizing current operations and decarbonizing the energy supply.

Electrification of port operations through battery-electric CHE holds the key to a net zero future, due to its scalability, the company said in a recently published White Paper in cooperation with DP World.

The White Paper says that the tipping point for battery-electric CHE can be reached within the next 2-8 years. However, this does require immediate action by terminal operators, OEMs of CHE, and public authorities.

Currently, APM Terminals is rolling out pilots in Aqaba, Jordan; Pier 400 and Mobile, USA; Barcelona, Spain; and SCCT, Egypt to explore possibilities and new solutions for electrification.