Konecranes has won a contract with South Carolina Ports to supply 12 Rubber Tire Gantry (RTG) retrofit hybrid power packs.
The conversion of the twelve 20-year-old Charleston-based Konecranes diesel RTG cranes will begin in January 2022.
The contract complements Konecranes’ momentum in the region, with over 30 new hybrid RTGs delivered to ports across America since 2020.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved Konecranes’ new hybrid technology in April 2021.
The approval means that South Carolina Ports, and other US ports, are assured of the efficacy and sustainability of Konecranes’ technology, and it comes at a time when the agency is offering companies the chance to apply for grants like the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) as they convert to more sustainable equipment.
Funding for this retrofit is partially provided through a 2019 DERA grant that was awarded to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, in partnership with South Carolina Ports.
“Anyone can add a battery to an engine and call it ‘hybrid’, but because we manufacture our own drive and control systems, we are the only company that can conduct a full upgrade on a turnkey basis without compromising crane performance. This agreement shows the global strength of Konecranes, involving engineers in the US and Finland, including our RTG pioneer Jorma Merimaa, and the results have been sensational,” said Scott Lane, VP of Konecranes’ US Port Services.
The hybrid power pack retrofit is part of Konecranes’ suite of Ecolifting products that have been engineered from the ground up to deliver dramatically reduced carbon exhaust emissions.
