IN Brief:
- ITG will operate a Hyster RSJ46-33XDL electric ReachStacker at Terminal Venray-Wanssum.
- Four 130kW lithium-ion battery packs are designed to support a full eight-hour shift.
- The deployment starts a 24-month field programme testing the technology under normal terminal operating conditions.
Hyster has deployed a battery-electric ReachStacker at Inland Terminals Group’s Venray-Wanssum operation in the Netherlands, beginning a 24-month field development programme under normal container-terminal conditions.
ITG is due to start using the RSJ46-33XDL during August. The machine carries four 130kW lithium-ion battery packs designed to support a full eight-hour shift, while the complete battery system can be charged from 20% to 80% in approximately four and a half hours with the appropriate charger.
Two battery packs are positioned on either side of the ReachStacker. The machine also uses software and systems shared with Hyster’s wider electric lift-truck range, including common operator displays, interfaces, service tools, and diagnostic functions.
The programme builds on earlier Hyster battery-electric container-handler development, including an empty-container-handler pilot at Malta Freeport Terminals. The Dutch deployment moves that work into another demanding application where lifting cycles, travel, boom movement, and changing container weights place substantial loads on the power system.
Field trial targets normal terminal duty
The 24-month period is central to the project because container handling rarely follows a laboratory duty cycle. ReachStackers accelerate, travel, lift, stack, and reposition containers around truck, barge, rail, and yard schedules, with energy demand changing throughout the shift.
Testing the machine in daily operation will allow Hyster and ITG to assess how battery capacity, charging behaviour, diagnostics, operator use, and maintenance requirements develop over a sustained period rather than during a short demonstration.
ITG operates 17 inland container terminals in the Netherlands and Belgium. Its network connects major seaports with inland destinations by barge, rail, and road, placing the electric ReachStacker inside a working intermodal system where equipment availability directly affects container flow.
The Venray-Wanssum site therefore provides a useful operating environment for comparing electric equipment with conventional heavy handling machinery. A ReachStacker unavailable for charging or maintenance at the wrong point in the shift can constrain yard activity even when the rest of the transport network remains available.
Hyster’s eight-hour shift specification is designed around that requirement, but charging still has to fit the terminal’s operating pattern. Moving from 20% to 80% takes around four and a half hours, meaning the site must plan charging around shift patterns, idle periods, and available electrical infrastructure.
That turns equipment electrification into a wider infrastructure decision. Terminals need sufficient power supply, charging equipment, safe charging locations, and operating procedures in addition to the vehicle itself.
Maintenance model remains deliberately familiar
Hyster dealer Heffiq will handle conventional maintenance and act as the first point of service response, with factory support available for high-voltage systems. Keeping routine maintenance within the existing dealer structure reduces the risk that every service event on an electric machine requires specialist factory intervention.
That distinction will matter if heavy electric equipment moves beyond limited deployments. Terminal operators need to know not only that the machine can perform the work, but that technicians, parts, diagnostic tools, and repair procedures can support it through years of operation.
Battery-electric equipment also changes the cost structure around energy and servicing. Diesel machines concentrate much of their energy requirement into fuel deliveries and combustion-engine maintenance; electric equipment shifts attention towards electricity procurement, battery condition, charging strategy, and high-voltage components.
The benefits have to be measured against those changes. Removing local exhaust emissions is valuable at terminals, particularly where equipment operates close to communities or in heavily used yards, while electric drivetrains can also alter noise and maintenance requirements. The commercial result still depends on utilisation, energy prices, battery life, charging infrastructure, and machine availability.
ITG already has an emissions-reduction programme and has achieved a third Lean & Green Star covering reductions in energy use and carbon emissions. The ReachStacker therefore forms part of an existing operating strategy rather than an isolated technology demonstration.
The field programme should provide evidence on whether the machine can deliver the required productivity without charging becoming an operational constraint. That is the test that matters for other inland terminals considering similar equipment.
If the ReachStacker can complete regular eight-hour working periods, fit charging around terminal schedules, and remain serviceable through established maintenance channels, battery-electric heavy handling will have a stronger operating case. The next 24 months are designed to establish whether those conditions hold in daily container work rather than under controlled test conditions.
