Kalmar has announced the launch of the Electric Straddle Carrier Charge Family, the latest addition to its rapidly growing portfolio of fully electric equipment. The company’s electrically powered offering already includes straddle carriers and smaller cargo handling equipment such as reach stackers and forklifts with varying lifting capacities.
The Charge Family comprises battery technologies, charging solutions and software to support operators of both manual and automated terminals with their transition towards decarbonised operations. The family includes:
- the Kalmar electric straddle carrier with high-energy battery, capable of up to four hours of continuous operation with a charging time of 45–50 minutes
- the Kalmar electric straddle carrier with high-power battery (previously known as the Kalmar FastCharge™ straddle carrier), capable of up to 50 minutes of continuous operation with a charging time of five to six minutes using FastCharge technology
- two different charging options: a standard CCS charging interface compatible with any commercial charging station, or optional FastCharge technology where the onboard battery is charged via a pantograph at a FastCharge charging station
- the Kalmar Charge Optimiser software, which automatically assigns charging tasks to the operator to avoid queues at the charging stations and ensure high utilisation of charging points
- the Kalmar One Fleet Optimiser software for Kalmar AutoStrads, which handles job scheduling and dispatching, including assigning charging tasks to equipment
- the Kalmar Insight Energy Module, which provides visibility over battery charging status, energy utilisation and charging KPIs
According to Arto Keskinen, Senior Vice President, Horizontal Transportation, Kalmar: “The Charge Family is a comprehensive suite of solutions that enables terminals to transition to fully electric straddle operations quickly and smoothly. We have developed this offering in close cooperation with our vast customer base. The feedback from our customers has shown us that there is not only a need for alternative charging solutions but also for supporting software solutions that allow them to make efficient use of their electrified equipment and identify areas for improvement through monitoring and data analysis. With the launch of the Electric Straddle Carrier Charge Family, we are enabling our customers to choose the path to electrification that best fits their operational and strategic business needs.”