SPECIALISED TRANSPORT Ӏ ELECTRIC SPMT
different to those of an SPMT. “Battery developments have
been particularly important with the SPMTs,” says Bezuijen. “Batteries have become smaller but more powerful.” That, though, is not the issue here. “For an electric car the battery should be as light and as small as possible, with a lot of kilowatt-hours in there. “For us, with an SPMT, a smaller battery isn’t really a requirement. We have space for very bulky batteries in there.” And if SPMTs are moving a load
that weighs 500 tonnes, a tonne or two extra of batteries is not going to make a big difference. “So weight and space is not
really a limitation,” Bezuijen says. “Even so, the technology now is going mainly into lithium batteries: those are still the cheapest, safest, and also the most viable option. So that's also where we are heading to. For the SPMT power pack you can put a really big power bank in there.” The end result is a machine with a 320kW electric motor powered by a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery. An onboard 44 kW battery charger fits within the envelope of the power pack unit (PPU). Running time should be enough to see the power pack only needing to be charged every two to three days depending on use. Electric motors, of course, turn only when the machine is moving, which reduces the power drain. It effectively means less power is
MAMMOET, ESTA AID SPMT GUIDELINES
Mammoet has supported ESTA to establish new stability guidelines for self-propelled modular trailers (SPMTs) when transporting large and heavy loads. Leading the project at Mammoet is Ludo Mous, director of operations for Europe. “In the
past,” says Mous, “there were rules of thumb which, for the time, were practical and acceptable to use. However, these days, with transport becoming more complex and reaching greater limits the calculations for stability must be correct. By creating awareness of these guidelines, we hope to prevent operations being performed with dangerous and critical transports.” Mammoet was part of ESTA’s first SPMT working group, established in 2016, which created its original Best Practice Guide for SPMT operation. In October 2023 ESTA published new trailer stability guidelines, which will be referenced in the first upcoming revision of the DNV ST-N001 Maritime Operations Standard, published by assurance and risk management experts DNV. “The core principle of the guidelines is a calculated approach,” explains Mous. “Past guidance was based on a measured stability method. This new method is calculating stability taking into account dynamic factors like braking, acceleration, wind, road camber, and so on.” To establish the guidelines, testing was carried out by Mammoet on SPMTs at its quayside
yard in Schiedam, The Netherlands. It covered aspects such as acceleration, breaking, tilting and emergency stops. Currently, the
group is reviewing a learning outcome that will be used to establish the minimum training requirements for an SPMT operator, further enhancing user knowledge and safety.
expended when the unit is ‘idling’, unlike with a diesel-powered machine PPU. Charging from a 63 amp three-phase mains supply can be done in five hours.
Mammoet’s mobile electric power pack
AS GOOD AS NEW The first unit made was a retrofit, a conversion of a conventional power pack that was itself over 20 years old. “And now it is like a new machine,” says Bezuijen. “It can run for another ten years. That is brilliant. And our client is super- happy with it. They can now drive it into clean rooms, for example. They could never have done that before.” Retrofitting, of course, adds to
the sustainability of the project: there is reuse, extending lifespan, and savings in raw materials
32 CRANES TODAY
and their associated energy (and expense) of a new chassis. Existing Mammoet SPMTs with diesel power pack units can be retrofitted with the new battery- electric system. And that is part of Mammoet’s overall sustainability programme – which is playing into the global effort as whole. “It is a journey,” Bezuijen says.
“The projects we are taking on are much more about renewables now than they used to be. It is exponential in that sense. Even our biggest cranes are working more in the offshore wind and renewables sector than ever before.” “We have to take action
today to be ready for the future, because this is coming,” concludes Hoogstra. “This is the future.”
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