24 Kangoo Maxi Z.E. (zero emission) vans from Renault will be used to transport personnel carbon-free at the HHLA Container Terminal Tollerort (CTT). The fleet is part of the ‘Hamburg – Wirtschaft am Strom’ (Hamburg – Current Affairs) project, which is being funded by the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development (BMVBS) as part of its Electric Mobility Pilot Regions programme.
Achim Schaible, CEO of Renault Deutschland AG, handed over a fleet of 24 Kangoo Maxi Z.E. to Klaus-Dieter Peters, Chairman of the HHLA Executive Board, providing the HHLA Container Terminal Tollerort (CTT) with what is now the largest fleet of electric vehicles at a port terminal in the North Range. The award-winning Kangoo Z.E. vans are powered by electricity from renewable sources and are used to transport people around the terminal.
At their forecast annual mileage at the Tollerort terminal, the Kangoos will use around 50,000 kWh of electricity from renewable sources. This is less than half the volume of electricity produced annually by the solar power unit that HHLA had installed on the roof of the CTT workshop in 2011 in cooperation with Hamburg Energie. For HHLA, this is another important step towards its target of reducing specific carbon dioxide emissions per container handled by 30 percent by 2020.
“Electric mobility can’t be imposed from the drawing board – it has to be seen to work in practice. The Hamburg electric mobility pilot region has successfully shown that it has the potential to implement complex infrastructure projects for everyday situations. The Port of Hamburg is a good example of how zero-emission mobility is being achieved on the ground”, underlined Enak Ferlemann, Parliamentary State Secretary at the BMVBS. The German Federal Ministry of Transport will continue to provide a high level of financial support for the expansion of electric mobility in the Hamburg pilot region in the future.
“Transport and logistics play a major role in Hamburg’s economy and so the city is supporting the federal government’s plans to expand electric mobility while setting its own particular priorities. At the port, HHLA is providing an impressive demonstration of how electric vehicles are already suitable for everyday use in terminal traffic. It also sends an important message nationwide. While others are still thinking about it, we are already getting down to work”, explained Frank Horch, the Hamburg minister of Economics, Transport and Innovation, during the handover of the vehicles in Tollerort.
The Renault electric vans will provide the bulk of staff transport at the CTT, such as taking container gantry crane operators out to the cranes for their shift. More than 60 percent of the cars and vans used at the terminal are now equipped with environmentally friendly electric motors. Every Kangoo has its own parking space and charging station, so the fleet can be optimally deployed in ongoing terminal operations around the clock. “The HHLA Container Terminal Tollerort has made a decisive and long-term commitment to electric vehicles for the renewal of its fleet. This forms part of our sustainability strategy and is another logical step towards our aim of replacing ever more diesel by electricity from renewable sources in order to significantly reduce carbon and noise emissions at our port terminals”, said Klaus-Dieter Peters, Chairman of the HHLA Executive Board.
The topic of electric mobility is being pushed forward at other HHLA terminals, as well. Last year, the HHLA Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA) received the Hanse Globe, a renowned sustainability award, for the successful completion of its pilot project with battery-driven container transport vehicles. The battery-powered AGVs (automated guided vehicles) are expected to replace the current diesel AGVs when new vehicles are ordered in the future.
With its choice of the Kangoo Z.E., HHLA is backing an electric vehicle that was voted International Van of the Year in 2011 and KEP Transporter of the Year in 2012. “We are very pleased that Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG has chosen 24 electrically powered Kangoo Maxi Z.E. vans, giving it the largest fleet of electric vehicles in operation at a port terminal. The compact, zero-emission van is agile and its range is perfectly suited for use at the container terminal in the Port of Hamburg”, commented Achim Schaible, CEO of Renault Deutschland AG. “Renault is the undisputed leader in the electric vehicle segment in Germany, with a market share of 23 percent. We are the only manufacturer today to offer a complete model range of mass-produced electric vehicles for all needs.”
