Energy

HHLA’s climate protection target can be achieved by increasing the proportion of renewables in the Group’s energy mix. For substantial CO₂e reductions, HHLA aims to electrify more of its equipment and machinery at the terminals, thus substituting fossil fuels with renewables. This not only means that the terminals produce fewer emissions and less noise, the alternative handling equipment is also easier to service.

These technologies not only lower emissions locally but also offer economic benefits, which are becoming increasingly important as energy prices rise. Several projects were successfully implemented in this area during the reporting period:

• Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA) put nine battery-powered tractor units into operation.
• In 2024, work at Container Terminal Burchardkai (CTB) on two electrified storage blocks, each with three stacking cranes, was completed and the storage blocks put into operation. A further storage block with three cranes was also almost ready to go into operation. In order to prepare for the introduction of battery-powered AGVs at CTB, extensive field tests with AGVs have now been completed.
• Various projects for generating our own electricity using photovoltaic systems were also launched and implemented in the reporting period. Photovoltaic systems at the sites in Muuga (Estonia), Malaszewicze (Poland), and in Prague and Budapest generated a total of 687 MWh of electricity, 85.2 % of which was used for internal consumption.
• The effectiveness of the existing energy management system, certified according to DIN ISO 50001:2018 and covering all HHLA companies with measurable energy consumption in Germany, was reaffirmed by a review audit during the reporting period.

HHLA is also continually searching for new options to help the company reach its goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2040. As a fuel source, hydrogen can play a key role in decarbonisation efforts, especially in port handling operations and in heavy goods logistics. For this reason, HHLA established the Clean Port & Logistics innovation cluster, a platform on which technologies powered primarily by hydrogen fuel cells are tested in port handling operations and heavy goods transportation and brought to market. More than 45 other companies from Europe, Asia as well as North and South America are involved in the cluster. The cluster commenced its work in 2022.

As part of this project, the hydrogen testing facility at Container Terminal Tollerort (CTT) was officially opened in summer 2024. With the opening of the testing facility and inauguration of the hydrogen refuelling point, the required infrastructure is now ready to speed up the transition to emission-free heavy goods logistics and port operations, and to drive forward the decarbonisation of logistics. Equipment such as straddle carriers, empty container stackers, reach stackers, tractor units and trucks can now be efficiently filled to 350 bar with green hydrogen in the Port of Hamburg. HHLA is currently field-testing a fuel cell tractor unit from Hyster Yale at CTT. Additional equipment is set to follow in 2025.

Furthermore, HHLA is actively committed to research projects such as the TransHyDe project and the LH2 Container project. In this context, it is working actively on the import and distribution of hydrogen and its derivatives. Emissions