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Noatum Container Terminal hosts successful port equipment trials for European project
Greencranes, a European initiative led by the Valenciaport Foundation with the collaboration of the Port Authority of Valencia (APV) and Noatum, held a public demonstration this week of its pilot trials.
The demonstration took place at the Port of Valencia’s Noatum Container Terminal to present the results from two pilot trials on two yard tractors, one by Alfaland, powered by a diesel engine configured to meet the low emission standards of the Stage IV. Gas Natural Fenosa, and the other by Terberg, propelled by LNG, both specifically designed for the Greencranes project.
During the pilot trials, which began in October, both yard tractors have been working for 700 hours in conditions representative of a port terminal, operating almost uninterrupted for more than a month. When compared to a traditional yard tractor both have proved to be quieter and emitted fewer emissions. However, further development is necessary for the LNG-propelled motors to reach the optimisation levels of their diesel-run counterparts.
In light of these results Noatum has started working with the manufacturers of yard tractors to adapt the port system to hybrid vehicles combining LNG or diesel with electrical engines and energy accumulators.
A demonstration was also given of an Eco-RTG crane. During the pilot trial Noatum succeeded in lowering the energy consumption of the RTG by as much as 42 percent, when compared to conventional units, by introducing a new engine and adjusting the crane’s configuration. The results have prompted Noatum to reconvert its own RTGs to this Eco-alternative in a bid to improve the sustainability of its terminal.
The Greencranes project (Green Technologies and Eco-Efficient Alternatives for Cranes and Operations at Port Container Terminals) started in August 2012. Its objective is to improve the understanding of investors and container terminal managers as well as the port industry, authorities and European citizens of those technologies that produce environmental, economic and social benefits that can be implemented in Europe. Greencranes involves three different EU member states (Spain, Italy and Slovenia) and pools together public administrative bodies, terminals, industrial suppliers and innovation centres.
