With supply chains accounting for the bulk of most organizations’ greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, ports will play an important role in meeting future emissions reduction targets. Ports are fast-paced environments that require enough power to support fleets of vehicles, cranes, container handlers and more, continuously moving heavy loads with minimal downtime. Terminals are considering technologies like lithium-ion batteries and hydrogen fuel cells to replace tried-and-true internal combustion engines (ICE) in order to help meet these targets. The question then becomes, how should these operations evaluate the emerging electrification options?
Factors like performance, cost and reliability are critical. Unlike ICE power, which depends on well-established fossil fuel supplies, ports looking to electrify operations must pay attention to local electrical infrastructure and hydrogen fuel supply.