Port of Virginia Orders 10 Electric Straddle Carriers from Kalmar

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 29, Finnish cargo handling equipment company Kalmar issued a press release announcing that it has secured an order from the Port of Virginia in the United States to supply 10 Kalmar electric straddle carriers, to be delivered to the port's largest facility, Norfolk International Terminals (NIT). The order was booked in Kalmar's Q3 2026 order intake, with delivery scheduled for completion in Q3 2027.

The core technical configuration of this order is lithium-ion batteries and a collision warning system, rather than a simple replacement of existing diesel or hybrid equipment. Straddle carriers are used to move containers between yard storage areas, quay loading and unloading points, and transport interchange points, and their operation involves repeated lifting, lowering, acceleration, and braking, with energy consumption varying according to container weight and travel distance. The Kalmar electric straddle carrier uses lithium-ion batteries designed specifically for heavy-duty equipment, with a nominal energy capacity of 533 kWh and a usable capacity of 453 kWh, providing approximately 300 to 600 minutes of net operating time, depending on operational intensity and working conditions.

For charging, a plug-in megawatt charging system or Kalmar FastCharge can complete charging in 45 to 50 minutes. Each unit is also equipped with the Kalmar collision warning system, which alerts operators to potential collision risks through visual and audible alarms. The Port of Virginia has not yet determined the charging infrastructure plan for this order; the final arrangement will need to take into account the number of electric units, daily utilization rates, and the available power at charging locations.

Upon completion of delivery, NIT's equipment fleet will comprise a straddle carrier fleet combining hybrid and fully electric units operating in parallel. NIT currently operates 113 Kalmar hybrid straddle carriers and more than 90 semi-automated stacking cranes, with annual throughput capacity set to reach 3.6 million TEU once ongoing expansion is completed. With the addition of these 10 fully electric straddle carriers, NIT's total straddle carrier count will increase to 123 units, comprising 113 hybrid and 10 fully electric. The configuration of charging infrastructure will determine whether these 10 electric units can complete recharging within existing operational gaps or whether additional scheduling arrangements will be required.