Katoen Natie has put two all-electric mobile harbour cranes into service at the Port of Antwerp, with four more joining them across three deep-sea multipurpose terminals. The completed fleet will include four 200-tonne cranes and two 150-tonne machines, with paired lifting capacity reaching 400 tonnes. Katoen Natie expects the six cranes to displace as much as 500,000 litres of diesel annually once they’re operating.

The October commissioning announcement is worth attention because these are heavy, mobile machines working in a commercial port. They aren’t small demonstrations, and the engineering addresses the conditions that historically made mobile harbour cranes difficult to electrify.

Fixed container cranes were straightforward candidates for electrification. They stay in one location, have repetitive operating patterns and can be connected to substantial electrical supplies. Mobile harbour cranes travel along the quay, move between assignments and handle cargo that can vary considerably from one vessel to the next. An onboard diesel generator provided that mobility without requiring the terminal to build electrical connections everywhere the crane might work.

Konecranes’ solution separates the energy needed for lifting from the energy needed for travel. External grid electricity supplies the heavy working loads, while rechargeable batteries allow the cranes to move between operating positions. This avoids carrying an enormous battery for work that can be powered directly from the grid. It also eliminates diesel exhaust at the equipment and reduces local noise.

The bigger advantage is that the investment isn’t tied to one type of cargo. A mobile harbour crane can handle steel, industrial equipment, large transformers, wind components, scrap, project cargo, conventional bulk and containers.

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