• EUR 82 million for a project to pilot digital and autonomous terminal infrastructure at the Wilhelmshaven site
• Strengthening German and European export infrastructure
• Project with the prospect of a roll-out across all German EUROGATE sites

KfW IPEX-Bank is providing the terminal operator EUROGATE with a loan of EUR 82 million. The funds will be used for a pilot project to develop and verify automation and digitalisation solutions, which will be tested at the Wilhelmshaven container terminal. The aim is to make terminal processes more flexible and efficient through the use of modern software and autonomous technologies.

“Together with EUROGATE, we are sending a clear signal in favour of modernising port logistics and the associated strengthening of Germany as a business location,” said Aida Welker, member of the Management Board of KfW IPEX-Bank.

In the pilot project, autonomous terminal trucks (‘ATTs’) will move containers between the quay and automated stacking cranes (‘ASCs’). As part of this, EUROGATE will further develop its own terminal software for the operation of automated container terminals and bring it to a stage where it is ready for practical application. Overall, the project aims to achieve measurable efficiency gains. In addition to a significant reduction in the consumption of fossil fuels through the electrification of container handling, the project also aims to reduce production costs through automated handling systems.

The results of the pilot project in Wilhelmshaven will play a key role in the overall assessment of the operational readiness of the planned future handling system and will inform the decision for a roll-out, initially in Hamburg and later at all German EUROGATE sites.

“With its profound understanding of our industry and the innovations involved in the project, KfW IPEX-Bank is the ideal financing partner, enabling us to implement a bespoke financing concept,” said Kristian Ludwig, CFO of the EUROGATE Group.

About EUROGATE
EUROGATE is Europe’s largest shipping-line-independent container terminal group. Headquartered in Bremen, the company operates container terminals from the North Sea to the Mediterranean in partnership with the Italian terminal operator Contship Italia. Its range of services is complemented by intermodal and cargomodal services. EUROGATE was founded in 1999.