On the beach with zero emissions
Meyers Manx is a brand famous for creating the iconic Dune Buggy, a recreational vehicle designed to tackle sandy beaches, using the original and historic VW Beetle as a design basis. Now, decades later, the company is ready to unveil an even more innovative version: the electric variant.Known simply as Electric 2.0, the newcomer retains the simple style of its predecessors; something that target customers are sure to appreciate. But, as the name alludes, there is nothing antiquated in the internal functioning, but a choice, albeit limited, of electric engines. Two variants are available, one with a 20 kWh battery, capable of covering about 200 km, and one with 40 kWh, capable of reaching 400 km. The power remains unchanged, 200 horses and 240 Nm of torque; more than enough to move the 800 kg of this small electric solution. - th_motorlabs_d_mh2_1 slot id: th_motorlabs_d_mh2 "); }
Although pricing has yet to be confirmed, the company will begin receiving pre-orders and offers for the Electric 2.0 through its website after the battery-powered Buggy is unveiled to the public later this month. Deliveries to customers will begin in 2024, although the manufacturer hopes to deliver 50 special units in the course of 2023. The idea of developing an electric Dune Buggy is not completely new, even Volkswagen had tried to create a similar solution starting, however, from a more robust ID.4.
Long Beach Container Terminal: Sustainable, autonomous and electric
In August 2021, the Port of Long Beach made history after it completed a major project to electrify a container terminal at Middle Harbor in California — the Long Beach Container Terminal. For perspective, the Port of Long Beach is the second-busiest container port in the United States, and this multiyear approach to redevelop and decarbonize the port's operations sent shockwaves across the industry, as the project lasted a decade.
As ongoing supply chain troubles continue, brought about by what seems to be one too many 'once-in-a-generation' moments — COVID-19 and the ongoing war in Ukraine, to name a couple — I thought it would be interesting to see how this once deemed 'greenest terminal on the planet' was faring during these historic times. Was its focus on sustainability putting it at a disadvantage compared to other terminals?
Long Beach Container Terminal is roughly 300 acres in size and is capable of handling 3.3 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) — the standard container measurement — per year. The redesign project split over several phases, with the Terminal’s first redesign phase ending in 2016. As the Terminal opened up the finished portion, crews continued working on phases two and three, finishing in August 2021.
The rest of the country is operating on a model that is 50 years old.
To understand more about the Terminal’s operations, I sat down with Anthony Otto, chief executive officer. 'Where we are now, we’re as close to zero emissions as possible and we are working towards true net-zero emissions as quickly as we can, and can honestly state and back up that we are the cleanest container terminal in the world at the moment,' Otto said. 'The rest of the country is operating on a model that is 50 years old.'
So what’s unique and exciting about Long Beach Container Terminal that makes it more efficient, more sustainable and ensures it stands out above the rest? This list is not exhaustive, but captures some reasons that stood out to me:
Where we are now, we’re as close to zero emissions as possible and we are working towards true net-zero emissions as quickly as we can, and can honestly state and back up that we are the cleanest container terminal in the world at the moment.
While the majority of the Terminal is electric, roughly a small portion of forklifts and 60-yard tractors remain, attributing to 92 percent of the on-ground diesel-based emissions. The Terminal is planning on turning those over to zero-emission before 2030 by leveraging funds from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Otto’s comments comparing 'the old model' compared with this autonomous and electric one stood out to me. 'The traditional model is a longshoreman driving diesel-powered trucks, diesel-powered cranes and in a fully manual environment.' This manual process 'mixes with over-the-road trucks that are trying to be processed in and out of the facility through the gate, along with on-dock rail, all mixing with diesel-powered equipment … We have designed this facility to be 180 degrees different.'
This 180-degree turn to a more sustainable and efficient operation has allowed the Long Beach Container Terminal to weather ongoing supply chain issues and actually thrive. 'If there was ever a time in which this technology and design would function right, it is now. By any measurement, we have outperformed any other terminal in this country, whether vessel productivity, how quick we can move the ships, how quick we can move on dock rail freight through our facility onto a rail car to its final destination or in and out of our gate with road truckers,' Otto said. 'The traditional model generally supports about 5,000-6,000 TEUs per acre per year, whereas our model does more than twice that — roughly 13,000-14,000 TEUs per acre per year.'
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