Port of Los Angeles commits $200 million to zero emission equipment

The Port of Los Angeles has secured a new, 30-year lease with Yusen Terminals, with the marine terminal operator fully committed through 2056 in a deal that paves the way for an fresh, $200 million investment in zero-emission cargo-handling equipment. (!)

Yusen Terminals has been operating at the Port of Los Angeles since 1991 in a sprawling, 232 acre lot occupying berths 212-224 at the international container port. In that time, the company has participated in a number of clean port initiatives that involve electric forklifts, reach stackers, and terminal tractors.

With a new lease comes a new commitment to both the port and the community that the port operators live and work in. To that end, the terminal has committed to invest more than $200 million to deploy a range of zero-emission equipment that includes a mix of battery- (yay) and hydrogen- (boo) powered assets as part of their new lease agreement.

“We greatly value our longstanding partnership with Yusen Terminals and the role they play in the success of our Port,” said Port of Los Angeles Executive Director, Gene Seroka. “Their commitment to excellence and willingness to work closely with us have been invaluable, especially in advancing our clean air initiatives. When we called on terminals to test and incorporate zero-emission equipment, Yusen Terminals immediately stepped up.”

Pure power

With short runs at low speeds under heavy loads in a controlled space, heavy-duty terminal operations represent an almost ideal use case for electric equipment. Yusen’s neighbors at Port of Los Angeles, APM Terminals Pier 400, did the math and came to the same conclusion, adding twenty new Orange EV yard dogs to their LA operations earlier this year, and announcing the purchase of 96 more (plus 36 electric gantry cranes) just yesterday.

To their credit, Yusen has seen what electrification has done for other operators – and they’ve got the right attitude to push their whole operation forward.

“We’re proud of the operation we’ve built at the Port of Los Angeles and excited about what lies ahead,” said Yusen Terminals President and CEO Alan McCorkle. “This agreement gives us the long-term certainty to continue investing in our terminal, our people and new technology while providing the reliable service our customers expect. We look forward to building on our partnership with the Port for decades to come.”

We look forward to seeing what comes of that partnership, too. Let us know what you think about Yusen’s big money commitment in the comments.