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Electrification is no longer a buzzword but rather a strategy for many industries to make the shft to a carbon neutral future and optimized operations. While it started off with passenger cars, charging solutions have come a long way and offer a lot higher charging power to enable fast re-charging of large capacity, heavy-duty vehicles like AGVs and other containcer moving vehicles.
In order to adress climate change and making ports cleaner environments, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was allocated $3 billion for their Clean Port Project under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act to help fund projects in ports across the country. As the market leader for charging connectors for vehicles in the port environment, Stäubli is an experienced partner that can provide the right, proven solutions to electrify ports nation wide while complying with the Clean Port Project requirements.
Let’s discuss your electrification project. We are happy to share our expertise.
The Clean Ports Program is designed to achieve three primary objectives: first, to establish a baseline that will enable ports to gradually transition to completely zero-emission operations, thereby inspiring broader change within the freight industry; second, to cut down on diesel pollution, which includes greenhouse gases and toxic air contaminants, particularly in communities close to ports that face environmental justice issues; and third, to promote substantial community involvement and standardize emissions reduction planning within the port industry.
Applications for the project are open until May 28th with major funds on the line to help transform American ports:
In the Planning Competition, the EPA is projecting to allocate roughly $150 million across 50 to 70 projects via grants or cooperative arrangements, dependent on funding availability, application number and merit, EPA priorities, and other relevant factors. Each application must request a minimum of $200,000 in federal funding, with a cap of $3,000,000. Applicants are not obliged to contribute additional cost-sharing or matching funds.
Meanwhile, in the ZE Technology Competition, the EPA is expecting to distribute about $2.8 billion among 32 to 90 awardees through grants or cooperative agreements. This is also subject to the overall availability of funds, the volume and caliber of submissions, the EPA’s priorities, and other pertinent criteria. The EPA foresees assigning these grants over three distinct levels, corresponding to the scale of the project and the type of applicant, each with its own set of cost-sharing or match requirements. Further information regarding the specific tiers and their associated cost-sharing expectations can be found in the accompanying table.
Next to the historic funds, setting up port operations for a greener future should also be a major driver in competing.
While two funding opportunities for the Clean Port Project were announced, the "ZE Technology Competition" is a funding initiative aimed at supporting the deployment of zero-emission port equipment and infrastructure. Its objective is to diminish emissions from various mobile sources, such as air pollutants, toxic compounds, and greenhouse gases, at ports throughout the United States. This effort is part of a larger strategy to enhance air quality for communities nationwide. An estimated $2.8 billion has been made available for this purpose. The project is the ideal opportunity for companies to get funding to set up future-proof operations. Applications are open until May 28th, 2024.
With QCC, Stäubli has developed a fully automated rapid charging solution that ideally fits the demanding requirements of port operations. Its design makes it a flexible, maintenance-friendly system suited for automated charging processes in challenging environments. Moreover, the system’s robust construction is designed and built for harsh operating conditions. Our patented MULTILAM technology ensures a reliable electrical connection and the safe transmission of high-power charging.
The system is deployed by some of the largest ports in the world, such as PSA Singapore or Tianjin (China) and has been instrumental in electrifying the fleet of transportation vehicles in the Port of Long Beach, California.
These various successful field applications are already proving that QCC sets the course for tomorrow’s ports in terms of economic efficiency and reliability.
Stäubli’s QCC offers multiple benefits to port operators:
