Renewable Energy

DP World trials hydrogen cranes to reduce emissions

May 8, 2025, 12:14 AM

Gantry cranes and shipping containers on Vancouver's downtown waterfront. The Port of Vancouver facility is operated by DP World

Vancouver Port test
Cleaner crane initiative
Green hydrogen is key

DP World, the world’s biggest container port operator, is testing out a hydrogen powered crane to reduce its reliance on diesel and cut carbon dioxide emissions.

The Dubai logistics giant, which handles 70 million containers each year, operates 1,500 cranes in over 60 ports around the world.

While it is considering converting half of those from diesel to electricity, many of the remainder, including in the US and Netherlands, could be moved to hydrogen, said Joel Werner, DP World’s chief operating officer of its operations in Canada.

The test is being carried out at the company’s Vancouver Port.

Diesel engines on DP World’s cranes need replacing every eight to 10 years.

“Instead of doing that, if we spend a little bit more, we can implement a carbon-free solution that emits just water vapour [which] then has a number of benefits attached to it,” Werner told AGBI.

Diesel cranes are heavy polluters: the fleet at Vancouver Port accounts for 50 percent of diesel consumption there and they generate over 4,200 tonnes of CO2 annually, according to the company’s website.

With the first trial phase having finished in late April, the second phase is a year-long stress-test of the crane.

The biggest limiting factor is accessibility to green hydrogen, which is hydrogen produced using renewable energy.

Planned nuclear power projects in the UAE mean cranes powered by green hydrogen could be used in Dubai, Werner said. DP World operates Dubai’s Jebel Ali port, the world’s third-biggest by throughput.

The UAE is targeting production capacity of 1.4 million tonnes per year of low-carbon hydrogen by 2031.

Though DP World revenue exceeded $20 billion last year, a 10 percent increase over 2023, profit fell 2 percent to $1.48 billion.