A consortium led by Belfast Harbour in Northern Ireland has been awarded funding for a feasibility study into the use of autonomous technology for Terminal Tractors (TT) within port logistics and operations.
The initiative will see Belfast Harbour partner with technology company Aidrivers and container port operator BCT to trial the use of the systems with TTs, which ports use for transporting containers between quay cranes and storage areas.
Funding of almost £400,000 (approx. US$500,000) has been secured from the UK Department for Transport’s Smart Shipping Acceleration Fund to carry out the study at Belfast Harbour’s Victoria Terminal 3 container terminal over a five-month period starting in November.
The primary objective of the project is to fit existing TTs with autonomous software and hardware, optimising fleet operations to achieve up to 30% fuel efficiency gains. The group also aims to demonstrate the scalability and affordability of autonomous systems tailored for smaller ports.
“We are excited to launch this initiative, which seeks to address a critical gap in the shipping supply chain, where traditional TT operations have been a big contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and operational inefficiencies,” said Laura O’Neill, Digital Transformation Manager at Belfast Harbour.
“The project is part of Belfast Harbour’s commitment to building a sustainable future and further enhances our ESG credentials by partnering with key tenants to help them address Scope 3 emissions. The study aims to reduce the amount of time TTs are idle, increase throughput of containers and investigate the potential for higher skilled jobs.”
