APM Terminals (APMT) Barcelona, along with customers, authorities, and workers, has commissioned 17 Konecranes NSC 644 EHY hybrid straddle carriers.

These versions reportedly consume up to 32.5 per cent less fuel than even the most contemporary cranes, lowering the terminal’s yearly CO2 emissions by 50 tonnes.

Managing Director of APM Terminals Spanish Gateways, Julián Fernández, said: “It is, the materialisation of the beginning of our path towards the electrification of our equipment, in line with our global objective of reducing our emissions by 70 per cent by 2030, and to achieve net zero by 2040.”

The President of the Port of Barcelona, Lluís Salvadó stated: “As one of the main players in the Port Community of Barcelona, it was important that APMT Spanish Gateways was not only involved in the modernisation and decarbonisation of our port, but also leading pioneering initiatives, such as the implementation of hybrid cranes.

“These investments help us to become an increasingly competitive and sustainable port, supporting the growth of the economy and the well-being of our citizens.”

In line with the APMT net zero 2040 goals, APMT Barcelona is reportedly meeting 7.5 per cent of its energy needs with solar panels and will soon achieve emission neutrality with the launch of a major electrification pilot project that will test five electric straddle carriers, the first in the Mediterranean.

The Spanish Government’s Moves Singular Projects II Programme is supporting APMT’s revolutionary solution, which is being developed for the first time globally.

The hybrid technology employed by APMT Barcelona’s 17 new straddle carriers will gradually enter production, replacing existing older equipment in the yard’s 74-vehicle container handling fleet.

In April, Arawak Port Development Limited (APD) ordered a Konecranes Gottwald ESP.6 mobile harbour crane to add extra capacity to its terminal at the Port of Nassau.