(Valencia, Spain) - The US manufacturer of industrial trucks Hyster Yale Inc. has delivered the prototype of a hydrogen-powered container loading crane (“reach stacker”) to the port of Valencia. The reach stacker is used there at the MSC terminal.
The device was delivered disassembled on three trucks and assembled on site. The fueling and operational tests are supervised by the technical team of Hyster, MSC Terminal Valencia, Centro Nacional del Hidrógeno, Carburos Metálicos and the Valenciaport Foundation as coordinator.
The consortium expects the reach stacker to offer comparable performance to a diesel-powered forklift in terms of capacity, lifting and travel speeds. According to the manufacturer, the device can perform up to two work shifts with one refueling. The hydrogen version has advantages over electric vehicles such as a long range and low fuel consumption.
Tractor and gas station in the test
According to the information, the reach stacker complements a tractor unit that has been in place since April for transporting containers in the terminals. There has also been a mobile hydrogen supply station since January. The filling station consists of a stationary part, intended for receiving, storing and compressing the hydrogen up to delivery pressure, and a mobile part, which stores the compressed hydrogen and has a fuel pump for refueling the port machines. The companies did not provide any information about the origin of the energy source. The devices are scheduled to be tested under real conditions by December 2024.
The testing and validation of hydrogen technologies in port machines is carried out as part of the European project “H2Ports” (Implementing Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Technologies in Ports) and involves investments of four million euros. The Valenciaport Foundation and the Valencia Port Authority are involved, as well as the National Hydrogen Center and the companies MSC Terminal Valencia, Grimaldi Group, Hyster Yale, Distretto Alta Tecnologia Energia Ambiente, Ballard Power Systems Europe, Carburos Metálicos (Air Products Group) and Enagás.
Photos
A prototype of the Hyster reach stacker goes into test operation in the port of Valencia. © H2Ports
