Kalmar's new electric charging stations will re-charge terminal vehicles during down time.
Electric-powered shuttle and straddle carriers will have a fast-charging solution on the market after Kalmar announced Kalmar FastCharge.
Taking advantage of pauses in the machine working cycle, a charging station with a pantograph direct current charging system is placed along the working route in the terminal, allowing machines to stop momentarily and re-charge.
“Charging happens during the idle time in the machine working cycle when it has stopped to wait for the container,” Kalmar says.
“Typical charging time in operation is 30 to 180 seconds, and with the maximum charging power of 600kW, full charge can be achieved in a few minutes.”
According to the Cargotec subsidiary, the technology is emission free on-site, and can be applied to both automated and manual operations.
“Customers have been asking for electric powered shuttle operation for a while already,” Kalmar vice president of Horizontal Transportation Tero Kokko says.
“This technology makes the charging process smooth, as there is no need to take the machine out of operation for battery swapping.”
Kokko says Kalmar FastCharge will aid stevedores face “tighter environmental requirements”.
“Our hybrid technology has been extremely well received by the market,” he says.
“We have long experience in Lithium-Ion technology in hybrid machines, and this development is a natural next step in reducing emissions.”
The company says the technology also offers customers with a smaller number of vehicle components to maintain, reduced vehicle noise, and up to 50 per cent increased energy efficiency compared to diesel/electric drive.
Tests on FastCharge are continuing, Kalmar says, but it hopes the solution will be available in 2016.