• 2022 May 25 13:54

    Volvo Trucks Ghent starts production of battery packs for electric HGVs in North Sea Port

    Volvo Trucks will start producing battery packs for electric HGVs at its assembly plant in Ghent, according to the company's release. This will create 50 jobs and further anchor an important industrial activity within North Sea Port.

    In the initial phase, Volvo Trucks will assemble around 30,000 battery packs a year in Ghent, creating fifty new jobs. An electric HGV requires up to six of these packs, each weighing about 500 kilos. Production will begin after the summer holidays in a specially converted 3,600 m² factory facility which has a 1,800 m³ canopy. The components and battery cells themselves will not be manufactured in Ghent but will be supplied by Samsung.

    The Ghent plant will also produce these battery packs for the group’s foreign plants. Volvo Trucks chose Ghent as its assembly site because of its central location within Europe and the multimodal transport options centred on the port. To this end, the Swedish parent company has invested €17 million in Ghent, its largest production facility, once again confirming its key role within the group. Volvo Trucks Gent has been supplying other factories with fully finished wheels for years.

    The first electric HGVs will roll off the assembly line in Ghent next year. Until then, the packs will be shipped to the factory in Sweden. But by 2030, Volvo Trucks aims to generate 50% of sales from electric HGVs. By 2040, production will also be completely carbon-neutral. That sustainability aim fits perfectly with North Sea Port's own objective of evolving into a climate-neutral port.

    North Sea Port has made automotive one of the seven spearhead sectors in its strategic plan. The Volvo Trucks and Volvo Cars assembly plants in Ghent are the heavyweights in this segment on the industrial side. They not only generate considerable flows of components and finished products and therefore a great deal of logistical activity, but also more than 10,000 direct jobs and considerable added value. Added to that is the indirect employment with suppliers and logistics service providers.

    The cross-border port is also an important European hub for other brands, including Ro-Ro lines connecting North Sea Port with Scandinavia and the United Kingdom, a rail link to China and major distribution operations for companies such as Honda.


2024 April 23

18:02 SFL acquires two LNG dual-fuel chemical carriers in combination with long term employment
17:31 Pioneering Spirit completes its first pipeline pull-ins in Kalsto, Norway
17:04 Valenciaport admits the four bids for the construction of the North Terminal
16:54 Vancouver welcomes its first resident battery electric tugs
16:24 Shanghai Port and Lianyungang Port strengthen partnership
15:44 WinGD to debut short-stroke engine design after successful shop test
15:24 Overseas Shipholding Group awarded federal grant to design marine transport for liquified CO2 captured by Florida’s largest emitters
14:53 H2Carrier to establish Norway's first integrated PtX and wind power project
14:23 IBIA and BIMCO sign collaboration deal
13:52 Container ship Xin Xin Shan arrested in Singapore
13:22 MOL to merge its subsidiaries in the Philippines
12:53 Haiti fuel terminal operations halted as gangs seize trucks
12:30 HHLA acquires interest in Austrian intermodal service provider Roland
11:42 South Korean yards built 500 LNG carriers for export in 30 years
11:19 Wartsila to provide a range of solutions for the six PCTCs being built for Sallaum Lines
10:36 Thecla Bodewes Shipyards successfully launches 'Vertom Anette’ for Vertom Group
10:12 Carras Aquataurus becomes world’s first vessel to earn ABS Biofuel-1 notation

2024 April 22

18:10 Cosco Shipping and Shenzhen port partner for automobile exports
17:42 SBM Offshore signs a US$250 million short-term corporate facility
17:06 MSC Group, MSC Foundation and Mercy Ships to build a hospital ship
16:45 Port of Valencia container volumes up to 459,749 TEUs in March 2024
16:13 TotalEnergies launches the Marsa LNG project and deploys its multi-energy strategy in the Sultanate of Oman
15:24 ABS and DOE sign MOU to collaborate on clean energy development and maritime decarbonization research
14:51 MOL becomes first Japanese operator to commercially install onboard CO2 capture system
14:24 Wartsila receives contracts to supply cargo handling and fuel gas supply systems for three new VLECs
13:54 Yang Ming revamp Far East-East Coast of South America Service
13:24 Cunard officially welcomes new ship Queen Anne with ceremony at Fincantieri shipyard
12:01 Value Maritime and MOL sign contract to supply an Exhaust Gas Cleaning System for an LR1 Product Tanker
11:43 Diamond Line enhances its NET2 service
11:24 Kotug International selected EST-Floattech for the containerized battery system for world’s first fully electric pusherboat
10:51 Torqeedo to integrate ocean plastics into its pioneering products

2024 April 21

15:07 Steerprop selected to supply main propulsion and tunnel thrusters for CCG's multi-purpose vessels program
13:51 First of its kind TRAktor V3900-DF launched at Uzmar Shipyard
12:37 ABS and DOE sign MOU to collaborate on clean energy development and maritime decarbonization research
11:25 SCHOTTEL to equip four new compact Damen ASD tugs with SRP 270 RudderPropellers
09:57 Hanwha Ocean expands offshore construction presence

2024 April 20

15:02 European ports contend with slow economic growth, geopolitical impact
13:43 AD Ports Group signs strategic agreement with ADNOC distribution for marine lubricants supply
12:17 Stena Bulk completes sale of Stena Blue Sky
10:05 Newbuild ocean tug bolsters growing LNG bunker fleet

2024 April 19

18:02 CMA CGM to strengthen and reshuffle its SEAS1 & SEAS2 services connecting Asia and East Coast South America
17:25 OOCL upgrades Transpacific Latin Atlantic 1/ 2 (TLA1/ 2) service
16:45 The world's two largest hydrogen ships are to be built in Norway
16:15 KEYS Azalea completes first ship-to-ship LNG bunkering in Western Japan
15:40 Port Houston surpasses 1mln TEU mark in Q1 2024
15:29 World's first ammonia dual-fuel Aframaxes to be developed by MISC
14:55 Port of Rotterdam total cargo throughput up 2.0% to 3.3 million TEUs in Q1 2024
14:06 DNV awards certificates for Fortescue’s dual-fuelled ammonia-powered vessel
13:44 Imoto Lines and Marindows launch next-generation zero-emission container ship project
12:41 The Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach complete a comprehensive Green and Digital Shipping Corridor study
12:20 Ulsan Port Authority signs MOU with Pacific Environment to decarbonize shipping ports in Singapore
11:50 Cavotec signs USD 5 million shore power order with global shipping company
11:22 Rio Tinto selects Alfa Laval OceanGlide fluidic air lubrication with a focus on advancing efficient shipping and reducing emissions
10:45 Steerprop selected to supply main propulsion and tunnel thrusters for Canadian Coast Guard multi-purpose vessels program
10:14 ST Engineering AirX and Bureau Veritas sign cooperation agreement to advance Wing-in-Ground technology
09:38 Solar panels at the Port of Valencia will generate 22% of the energy it consumes

2024 April 18

18:02 DEME wins cable installation contracts from Prysmian for IJmuiden Ver Alpha and Nederwiek 1 offshore grid systems
17:31 RINA awarded contract for Carnival Cruise Line 4th and 5th Excel-class ships
17:18 Cepsa and Evos join up for green methanol storage in Spain and the Netherlands
16:48 ClassNK commences joint research project with JAXA on material compatibility evaluation methods for liquefied oxygen
16:24 Panama Canal announces new measures regarding number of transits and maximum draft
15:50 Kongsberg Maritime secures contract to supply propeller systems to Damen Naval for four Anti-Submarine Warfare frigates
15:24 LR to class Torghatten Nord’s hydrogen-powered ferry duo for Arctic sailings
14:04 CMA CGM sells part of the foreign activities of Bolloré Logistics to the Balguerie Group
13:40 Methanol Institute and SEA-LNG unite against EU trade barriers to biomethane and biomethanol fuels
13:23 DP World launches a new Air Tracking feature to its SeaRates platform
12:31 Port of Los Angeles container volume increases 19% to 743,417 TEU in March 2024
12:16 MABUX: Bunker Outlook, Week 16, 2024
12:11 Coastal Sustainability Alliance boosts development and adoption of maritime biofuel in Singapore
11:43 Ocean Network Express launches reduced emissions shipping service