Feature, Freight News, Logistics, Sea

San Pedro Ports Study Zero-emission Equipment

[ March 13, 2026   //   Gary Burrows ]

The twin ports of Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach have issued a final assessment examining the feasibility of battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell cargo-handling equipment as the gateways move toward their zero-emissions goals.

The report, released March 10 under the ports’ Clean Air Action Plan, evaluates the current readiness of cleaner cargo-handling technologies and their potential for wider deployment at marine terminals. It follows a draft released in October 2025 for public comment and updates earlier assessments completed in 2018 and 2021.

The study, available at https://cleanairactionplan.org/strategies/cargo-handling-equipment/, reviews zero-emission equipment across five factors: technical viability, commercial availability, operational feasibility, economic workability and infrastructure readiness. While the report concludes that battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell technologies are continuing to advance, it says further progress is needed on costs, fueling and charging infrastructure, and operational integration before large-scale adoption.

Port officials said the assessment is part of an ongoing effort to map a path toward eliminating emissions from cargo-handling operations. Under the Clean Air Action Plan framework, the ports plan to publish feasibility assessments every three years for terminal equipment and drayage trucks.

The ports have also sought to accelerate the development of cleaner equipment through their Technology Advancement Program. Since 2007, the ports and their partners have invested more than $431 million in projects aimed at commercializing lower-emission and zero-emission technologies.

First adopted in 2006 and updated in 2017, the Clean Air Action Plan outlines strategies to cut air pollution while maintaining the San Pedro Bay complex’s competitiveness in global trade. According to the ports, port-related emissions in the region have fallen sharply since 2005, including a 90 percent drop in diesel particulate matter, a 70 percent reduction in nitrogen oxides and a 98 percent reduction in sulfur oxides.

The plan also established greenhouse-gas targets, calling for emissions from port-related sources to fall 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 and 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.

The San Pedro Bay port complex is the largest gateway for containerized cargo in the U.S.

Tags: Port of Long Beach, Port of Los Angeles, San Pedro Bay Ports