The Port of Los Angeles Wednesday announced it has been awarded a $731,000 grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) to purchase and test new technology that could significantly reduce diesel emissions and greenhouse gases from rubber tired gantry cranes, which are used for stacking containers.
The grant will allow the Port to replace a conventional 685-horsepower diesel engine on a rubber tired gantry crane with a downsized 105-horsepower diesel engine that charges a battery pack. The battery pack drives an electric motor that powers the gantry operation. Because the engine runs only periodically to maintain the battery charge, the new technology can reduce particulate matter (PM) up to 85 percent and greenhouse gases up to 70 percent.
The grant was awarded under the US EPA's emerging technologies program to promote diesel emission reductions.