Valencia terminal to pilot LNG tractor

The port’s Noatum Container Terminal Valencia, where the scheme is to be based, made a public call for tenders in March, eventually awarding the contract to a consortium of Alfaland and Terberg and tasking it with developing two tractors: one powered by LNG and the other by the best emission-controlling technology currently available.

In the first trials carried out in Terberg’s Netherlands factory the LNG tractor demonstrated its towing capacity with an autonomy that was equal or superior to its diesel counterpart. These results will be compared to those obtained during the pilot scheme at the terminal which is expected to last until November.

The scheme will make it possible to verify the capacity and consumption of the tractor under real working conditions with intensive shifts and maximum cargo loads. The results are expected by year’s end and will inform the terminal’s energy and emissions strategy.