Port terminal operators are equipping themselves with a considerable Number of Powered Load Handling Vehicles that replace vehicles and equipment powered by fossil fuels and, if ports fail to meet the consequent growing demand for electricity, in the future it will be may result in inefficiencies in the operation of the terminal and, therefore, a slowdown in port traffic. The highlight three reports presented today by the Zero Emission Port Alliance (ZEPA), the initiative created in 2023 by terminal operators, ports and port equipment manufacturers, which are focused on the expected demand for electric port equipment and vehicles in the 2025-2035, on standards relating to port means and on the strengthening of energy infrastructure in the harbours.

Reports show that the demand for port assets is expected to accelerate rapidly in the coming years, with the only terminal operators that are members of the ZEPA and that currently represent 15% of the world market that by 2035 will almost exclusively purchase battery-powered vehicles electrically. In particular, it is expected that between 2031 and 2035 more than 94% of purchases of new port vehicles by ZEPA terminal will consist of electric vehicles compared to 76% between 2025 and 2030. According to the ZEPA, this trend stresses the urgency for port equipment manufacturers to align their their portfolios to the growing demand for these products. In addition It should be noted that, if the current cost gap between port means electric and diesel will be zero by 2035, the Future sales of electric vehicles will be even higher than expected, with an acceleration of the growth trend that has corroborated by the decarbonisation objectives of terminal operators and the introduction of new rules and policies for the decarbonization.

An impulse to accelerate the adoption of high-speed port means power supply could also be imposed by the standardisation in the electric vehicle market, the lack of which has so far represented an obstacle to their diffusion that has resulting in inefficiencies, higher costs and limited interoperability. To this end, the second report presented today from the ZEPA proposes eleven voluntary standards focused on port tractors and straddle carriers as the first vehicles port vehicles produce the largest share of emissions, and therefore their electrification will lead to greater impact on decarbonisation, while straddle cranes have the greatest difference in cost compared to the Straddle Carrier Diesel and are more difficult to electrify.

The third report focuses on strengthening port electricity infrastructure which, if lacking, could Determine bottlenecks in container traffic through ports and recommends that port authorities, port operators and electricity grid operators collaborate strictly so that the demand for electricity in ports, also evaluating strategies to avoid peaks in demand and allow flexible load management with the aim of maximising capacity utilisation of the existing electricity grid and to ensure efficient decarbonization of the port.

Currently, APM Terminals, CATL, DP World, InductEV, Kempower, Patrick Terminals, Rocsys, Sany, SSA Marine, ZPMC and the ports of Aarhus and Rotterdam.