Port Houston in Texas has ordered five Konecranes hybrid rubber tyred gantry (RTG) cranes for its Barbours Cut Container Terminal.
The order was booked in the third quarter of 2023, with the new equipment scheduled to be delivered at the beginning of 2025.
Port Houston said it continues to hybridise RTG container handling in its Barbours Cut and Bayport operations to meet growing container traffic in an eco-efficient way.
More specifically, Houston’s current RTG fleet consists of 116 Konecranes RTGs, of which 26 are hybrid RTGs. By early 2025, the hybrid RTG fleet will grow to 57 following this order and another one announced last October.
“Konecranes RTGs are very popular in North America and it’s good to see the hybrid version populating the RTG fleet of Port Houston, which is always forward-looking, especially when it comes to eco-efficiency,” said Jussi Suhonen, Konecranes vice president of regional sales at Port Solutions.
Additionally, the hybrid Konecranes RTGs on order have advanced Li-ion battery technology and a battery management system that monitors the charge level and general health of the batteries. Moreover, the hybrid power system is completely modular and retrofittable. It includes an eco-efficient Tier 4f diesel engine that charges the batteries when necessary.