“Decarbonizing island heavy-duty transport is not only viable but technically efficient if the archipelago’s geographical characteristics are leveraged and a transition that pays for itself from the very first kilometer is pursued,” said Gabriel Bernal Gascón, an executive at Transbernal, at the end of the technical session held at the port in Tenerife. In his view, the key to success lies not in replicating long-distance continental models, but in designing operations tailored to local port logistics, where fleets operate within limited ranges but face extreme mechanical demands.
The Assembly Hall of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife Port Authority hosted the session “Decarbonizing Port Heavy-Duty Transport” on October 9, an event organized by the Blue Economy Chair at the University of La Laguna (ULL) together with the Port Authority itself. The event brought together logistics professionals, energy experts and institutional representatives to examine the future of road freight transport in an island territory that is fragmented and highly dependent on maritime traffic.
Why it matters
In the Canary Islands’ socioeconomic context, virtually all consumer goods, industrial inputs and supplies enter the islands through commercial docks. Once ashore, secondary distribution relies entirely on trucks and heavy-duty vehicles connecting port facilities with industrial estates and urban centers. Aligning this critical link with climate neutrality targets is essential to maintaining the competitiveness of the island economy and reducing the overall carbon footprint of the supply chain.
The topographical paradox: the advantage of slopes on short routes
The geography of the Canary Islands presents a unique scenario for heavy-duty electric mobility. Unlike flat continental routes spanning hundreds of kilometers, island road transport is characterized by short distances between origin and destination, combined with rugged terrain that includes very steep inclines from the coast toward inland areas.
Far from being an insurmountable obstacle, this combination offers strategic advantages for the electrification of trucks. On the one hand, the short distances eliminate so-called range anxiety, allowing vehicles to complete their daily schedules without needing to recharge en route. On the other hand, the regenerative braking technology used in modern electric motors makes it possible to recover a significant amount of energy during descents from higher areas to the ports, substantially improving the vehicle’s overall energy efficiency and reducing wear on mechanical braking systems.
Technical innovation and high-power charging
During the session, Gabriel Bernal outlined the operational keys to efficiently transforming port heavy-duty transport, emphasizing the need to assess total cost of ownership (TCO) to ensure that environmental sustainability goes hand in hand with the economic profitability of transport companies.
Víctor Bellido, representing Solarlighting, presented the latest technological solutions for energy storage using next-generation batteries and high-power charging systems. Bellido explained how installing fast-charging infrastructure at port terminals and logistics facilities themselves can optimize equipment downtime, ensuring that the transition to zero-emission fleets does not compromise the pace or productivity of the flow of goods.
The article “Tenerife Ports launches an agenda to decarbonize heavy-duty transport” was first published on canarymaritime.com.
