Japan: ‘First’ cargo handling ops using hydrogen-fueled RTG begin

First cargo handling operations using a hydrogen-fueled rubber-tired gantry (RTG) crane have begun in Japan.

As per agreement concluded in May 2023, the Bureau of Port and Harbor Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line), Uni-X NCT, Mitsui E&S, and Iwatani Corporation have installed fuel cells on the RTG crane at Oi Container Terminal.

By sharing the results of this project widely, the partners aim to promote the use of hydrogen in cargo handling machinery and the decarbonization of the Port of Tokyo.

By replacing the diesel engine generators of the RTGs currently in operation at the Oi Container Wharf with FC generators, the companies intend to verify whether the same cargo handling capacity as before can be achieved while using hydrogen as fuel, which does not emit CO2 during power generation.

Hydrogen is transported from a hydrogen production plant in Chiba Prefecture to the Oi Container Wharf using trailers. It is pressurized using a hydrogen supply unit installed at the wharf before being filled into hydrogen tanks inside the RTG.

As explained, cargo handling operations will be carried out using RTGs that have been fitted with FC power generation equipment, data will be collected and analyzed, and issues regarding terminal operations and countermeasures will be identified.

As part of its broader strategy, Japan launched initiatives to make its ports carbon-neutral by electrifying cargo handling machinery and converting it to hydrogen.

Back in 2022, NYK Line and Uni-X NCT began the operation of four transfer cranes developed by Mitsui E&S, which are based at the NYK Tokyo Container Terminal (NYTT). Each crane is equipped with a downsized diesel engine that reduces carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and diesel exhaust and can be replaced with a hydrogen fuel cell power supply in the future.

In February this year, Japan’s Kobe-Osaka International Port Corporation launched an initiative to showcase the operational prowess of hydrogen-fueled cargo handling machinery, marking a global first in converting an RTG crane’s diesel engine generator to a hydrogen engine generator. The project is taking place at the Kobe International Container Terminal (KICT), managed by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), at the Port of Hanshin.

What is more, in May 2024, Japan’s Mitsui E&S and its U.S. subsidiary PACECO announced the commencement of commercial operations of the “world’s first” hydrogen fuel cell-powered rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) crane, H2-ZE Transtainer crane, at the Port of Los Angeles. Mitsui E&S developed the H2-ZE Transtainer crane and announced its completion at the Mitsui Oita factory in April 2023.