One of the biggest zero-emissions heavy-duty forklifts operating in the U.S. has been introduced at the Port of San Diego’s Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal.
Terminal operator SSA Marine announced March 6 that the 55,000-pound capacity Wiggins Yard eBull battery electric forklift has begun service at the Southern California port terminal.
Partly funded by California’s Clean Off-Road Equipment (CORE) voucher program, the forklift is the first of six zero-emissions cargo handling equipment pieces expected to be rolled out at the terminal over the next 12 to 18 months; the port says that it has already finished initial electrical infrastructure installation necessary to run the equipment.
The Carrillo forklift, which can hoist up to 25 metric tons, is named after SSA Marine Regional Vice President Joe Carrillo who, according to the company, helped facilitate the country’s first large-capacity electric forklift fleet, which included 26 Wiggins Yard eBull electric forklifts at SSA Marine terminals at the Port of West Sacramento and the Port of Stockton.
“SSA Marine is proud to partner with the Port of San Diego to demonstrate the potential of zero-emissions equipment in a marine terminal environment and to further understand what the long-term benefits could look like,” Bill Fitz, senior vice president of SSA Marine’s conventional division, said.
“The Port of San Diego’s proactive approach to electric infrastructure development has been critical to the success of this program,” Fitz continued, “and we look forward to continuing to work together to transitioning additional pieces of zero-emissions cargo handling equipment in the years ahead.”
