Port of Virginia orders 10 electric straddle carriers from Kalmar

Kalmar has booked an order for 10 fully electric straddle carriers from the Port of Virginia, with all units slated for Norfolk International Terminals (NIT), the port's largest box facility. The deal landed in Kalmar's third-quarter 2026 order intake, and deliveries will wrap up during the third quarter of 2027. Kalmar did not disclose the order's value.

The machines are not spec-sheet filler. Each carrier runs on lithium-ion batteries built for heavy-duty operations and can work for up to 600 minutes per charge, according to Kalmar. That runtime matters at a terminal that moves containers around the clock, and it signals that battery-electric yard equipment has cleared the endurance threshold for dense, high-utilisation deployments.

Why Norfolk International Terminals?

NIT is in the middle of an expansion that will lift annual terminal capacity to 3.6 million TEUs. Once the new electric carriers arrive, the terminal is expected to field more than 90 semi-automated stacking cranes and 113 Kalmar hybrid straddle carriers alongside the fully electric fleet. That fleet mix sketches the transition path most large ports are on: hybrids in the installed base, full-electric in new orders.

The Port of Virginia also runs Virginia International Gateway (VIG), its other semi-automated container terminal, giving it one of the most automated terminal footprints on the US East Coast.

What does the order change on the ground?

Two things: emissions and safety. The electric carriers back the port's push to cut its carbon output, with a stated target of net-zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2040. Scope 1 covers direct emissions from port-operated equipment, which is exactly the bucket diesel straddle carriers fill. Every diesel unit replaced with a battery-electric one chips directly at that 2040 commitment.

On safety, each machine comes fitted with the Kalmar Collision Warning System, which uses visual and audible alerts to flag collision risks to operators. Yard collisions between straddle carriers, trucks and containers remain a persistent hazard at high-throughput terminals, and warning systems are becoming standard equipment rather than premium add-ons.

Patrick Jefferson, Director of Operations at Norfolk International Terminals, framed the investment in operational terms: "Integrating these fully electric Kalmar straddle carriers with the Collision Warning System into our operations is a vital step in our journey to create safer and more sustainable operations."

A nearly two-decade supplier relationship

The order extends a commercial relationship between Kalmar and the Port of Virginia that stretches back to 2007. That history shows up in the fleet numbers: 113 Kalmar hybrid straddle carriers already operate at NIT, and the Finnish equipment maker has effectively locked in the port's yard-equipment pipeline for the better part of two decades. Incumbency of that kind is hard to dislodge, and it shapes procurement for future phases of the NIT build-out.

For shippers and carriers calling Virginia, the practical consequences are gradual rather than dramatic. More electric yard equipment should trim the port's exposure to fuel-price swings and emissions-linked costs over time, while added automation and capacity — 3.6 million TEUs once the expansion completes — widen the window for handling peak volumes at a gateway competing for East Coast share.

What comes next?

Watch the delivery schedule. Units arrive through Q3 2027, and the pace of subsequent electric orders from Virginia — and other US ports chasing their own net-zero deadlines — will show whether battery-electric straddle carriers have moved from pilot projects to default procurement.