In a video address played to the United Nations Climate Conference (COP 27) in Sharm El Sheikh this month DP World Chairman and Group CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem announced the company intends to invest up to $500 million to cut CO2 emissions from its operations by nearly 700,000 tonnes over the next five years.

International media reporting on COP 27 said DP World’s plans include “replacing its global fleet of assets from diesel to electric, investing in renewable power and exploring alternative fuels.” To find out more about the company’s plans WorldCargo News spoke with Enoma Woghiren, Head of HSSE for Europe at DP World.

Woghiren said that, as a global organisation, DP World has several emissions reductions targets for its operations. These include goals to be carbon neutral by 2040, net zero by 2050, and in the shorter term to achieve a 28% reduction in carbon emissions from a 2019 baseline by 2030.

Electrification of cargo handling equipment is an important strategy for DP World, but at this point it does not have a timeline for replacing its whole global fleet with zero emissions equipment, which would be a multi billion-dollar endeavour. Furthermore, fully electric mobile equipment like straddle carriers and reachstackers are still relatively new technology that operators have to test and develop plans for effectively implementing in existing operations.

As it works towards decarbonisation targets DP World is taking what Woghiren called a “Swiss cheese” approach to emissions reductions. This “brings together fragmented solutions – like layering pieces of Swiss cheese on top of one another, soon the holes become covered – while a long-term solution is reached,” he said.

To give an example Woghiren cited the hybrid straddle carriers DP world is now operating in Southampton. These have lower emissions than a diesel machine, but are not zero emissions equipment. To “layer” another technology with the hybrid machines DP World replaced fossil diesel with HVO at Southampton. This cut net CO2E emissions by more than 80%, but was not straight forward to implement. DP World had to do a lot of work with key stakeholders to reach a point where it was confident that HVO will not have a detrimental effect on the reliability of the equipment.

In time DP World may move to fully electric straddle carriers if this technology can meet its operational requirements. A Kalmar Fast Charge Shuttle Carrier was tested by DP World in a pilot project at London Gateway in 2017, but Woghiren said there were teething problems putting an electric machine into the operation at that stage. DP World is now working on electric shuttle carriers for the new Berth 4 at London Gateway, which will require some changes to the operation to reduce the distance the machines must travel. While confident there will be an electric option for all equipment at some point, hybrids and HVO will continue to make an important contribution to emissions reduction.

At the same time other electric solutions are ready to roll. DP World has successfully trialled a Terberg YT203 EV tractor at London Gateway, which was used primarily to transport containers from the quayside to a DC in the logistics park. The results were “very positive”, Woghiren said, and the machine was “just as good if not better than a diesel”.

Diesel tractors will be replaced with “cleaner versions” as they reach end of life, but this will be a targeted process. While electric machines reduce emissions at DP World’s facilities, Woghiren stressed that the company is very aware that it “does very little” for decarbonisation if the electricity supply for the terminal comes from burning fossil fuels. As it moves to electrification DP world will be focusing first on the locations where its operations can source or generate green electricity, and there will be a lot of local challenges in this respect, he added.

At the same time alternative fuels, and in particular hydrogen, are in the mix and DP World is considering these alongside its electrification plans as it works towards decarbonisation. Woghiren said that hydrogen “presents a real solution”, but the industry still needs to solve the supply issues around green and blue hydrogen, and the wider market has to find the right level of investment to scale up the infrastructure for supply, particularly for green hydrogen. In 2023 DP World will undertake a pilot project to trial hydrogen at Southampton “to see what the possibilities are”, he said.

DP World has other areas of focus alongside equipment electrification as it works towards its decarbonisation targets. These include process efficiency and digitisation, more efficient vessels, solar power, wind generation and a wide range of other initiatives in different parts of its operations. There have been some notable successes, and Woghiren cites the use of HVO fuel at Southampton and the work underway to make the Rotterdam World Gateway terminal completely CO2 neutral by 2024.

On the vessel side, DP World-owned Unifeeder is involved in the world’s first marine trial of carbon-neutral synthetic natural gas (SNG), which is generated from 100% renewable energy. Furthermore, DP World has embraced collaboration around clean energy, in particular by joining the Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping in 2020.

All the different initiatives mean DP World is taking a fragmented approach to decarbonisation at this point, but Woghiren stresses that this is necessary in the current environment – “we can’t sit on our hands and wait. We want to take a leadership role”, he said. As it works with its suppliers DP World recognises that it will have to “readjust” some of its existing assets to take advantage of cleaner technology over time, which will involve costs, and it is important to find “the path of least resistance” for both DP World, its suppliers and other stakeholders, Woghiren said.

DP World will keep pushing forward with its own initiatives that lower the carbon footprint of its own operations, but at the same time is calling for the wider ecosystem of shipping lines, port operators, energy producers and regulatory bodies to work together to achieve consensus on key issues around fuel and fuel production that are needed to decarbonise the industry on a wider scale. There is no more important goal than sustainability and all the stakeholders in the industry need to be “laser focused on the need to decarbonise the maritime industry,” Woghiren concluded.