TOC Asia: Cost remains a top ‘pain point’ in port electrification

While the container terminal operators are moving beyond pilot projects towards wider implementation and adoption of electrified container-handling equipment (CHE), investment costs remain a major industry “pain point”.

Speaking at the Accelerating Port Decarbonisation session at TOC Asia, taking place in Singapore on November 10 and 11, Guangtong Liu, Head of Equipment Circularity and Decarbonisation at APM Terminals, said prices of electric CHE were not falling fast enough.

“There is a very low degree of commoditisation for the products we have, and the after-sales network is also not ready because of the lack of scale,” Liu said.

APM Terminals is advocating collective action through the Zero Emission Port Alliance (ZEPA) on aggregating demand to give manufacturers greater visibility and support standardisation of equipment designs. Liu also stressed that there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to equipment electrification. Decisions need to reflect conditions at individual terminals and in their regions, including operational volatility and equipment replacement cycles. Operators must weigh whether to electrify equipment ahead of schedule or replace it with electric alternatives at the end of its working life.

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