UK’s top container port Felixstowe, operated by Hong Kong’s Hutchison Ports, is set to launch 100 battery-powered autonomous trucks, with the first units to enter service in September.
The trucks will be built by Shanghai Westwell Technology following a “thorough testing and evaluation process”. Last December, Felixstowe rolled out a pair of Westwell’s autonomous terminal tractor units into mixed traffic container terminal operations to transport containers between the port’s Trinity and North Rail terminals.
Hutchison Ports first introduced Westwell’s autonomous trucks in Thailand’s Laem Chabang Port in 2020. Fifteen of the so-called Q-Trucks run in mixed mode with no separation from other traffic and have handled over 334,000 teu moves since their introduction.
The new equipment is seen as an essential element of Felixstowe’s decarbonisation strategy, where Hutchison Ports announced plans to achieve Scope 1 and Scope 2 net zero by 2035. In addition to the autonomous trucks and battery-powered conventional tractor units, the port is also replacing and re-engineering its yard cranes and purchasing electricity only from certified renewable sources.
“The new trucks will increase the efficiency and operational consistency of our container handling as well as making a significant contribution to decarbonising operations at the port,” said Clemence Cheng, CEO of the Port of Felixstowe and executive director of Hutchison Ports.
