The Port of Kalundborg, Denmark, has announced it will electrify all cranes in its deep-water container terminal within seven months to further lift the standard of responsibility.
The terminal, operated by APM Terminals since March 2021, additionally announced that the container handling equipment in the short term will run on HVO100 fuel – or hydrotreated vegetable oil – reducing CO2 emissions by 90 percent. In the longer term, the terminal will look into other decarbonized solutions for the container handling equipment, for instance batteries.
Early mover, huge impact
The announcement was made on October 31 ahead of the first call at the terminal by Laura Maersk, the world’s first hydrogen powered container vessel. The commitment by Port of Kalundborg to electrify its cranes, and for APM Terminals to switch to HVO100 fuel means that within months, the terminal will offer customers a huge reduction in landside emissions.
Kalundborg will become one of only a handful of APM Terminals to use the biofuel, joining APM Terminals Gothenburg and P400 in Los Angeles which has used a similar renewable diesel since 2021.
Mikael Gutman, CEO APM Terminals Nordics, said the Port of Kalundborg has “vast potential” as an environmentally friendly and faster route to the important market in and around Zealand. “With the measures we are taking, we can offer a green gateway to the Zealand market,” said Gutman. “Not only is this unique in a Danish context – it is also unique internationally and places Kalundborg on the world map as a leader of the green energy transition,” he said.
Global initiative
He made the remarks just days after APM Terminals and DP World released a joint White Paper calling for the electrification of terminal equipment on a global scale. The Port of Kalundborg has been one of the first port authorities to back the Net-Zero Ports initiative.