DP World has completed testing of the Boxbay high bay storage system at Jebel Ali Port in Dubai.
The global terminal operator said the trial proved the technology works in the real world.
More than 63,000 container movements have been completed at the facility, which can hold 792 containers at a time.
DP World said the test exceeded expectations with higher speeds and more energy efficiency than anticipated.
The Boxbay system is a joint venture between DP World and German industrial specialist SMS Group. The system stores containers in slots in a steel rack – up to 11 containers high.
The company said the system delivers three times the capacity of a conventional yard in which containers are stacked directly on top of each other.
In the Boxbay system, containers are moved in, out and between slots by automated cranes built into the structure. Containers can be accessed without moving any others, and the whole system is designed to be fully powered by solar panels on the roof.
DP World group chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem said the test proves that Boxbay can revolutionise how ports and terminals operate.
“The technology we have developed with our joint venture partner SMS group dramatically expands capacity, increases efficiency, and makes the handling of containers more sustainable,” he said.
“Boxbay is part of DP World’s vision to apply innovation to enable global trade and be a provider of smart logistics solutions.”
Boxbay chairman and CEO Mathias Dobner said his company and its partners are pleased with the results of the first six months of operation.
“In important parameters such as performance, reliability, energy consumption and many more our goals have been exceeded by far,” he said.
“For ports worldwide, this innovative and disruptive technology will not only increase their over-the-quay-wall handling volumes and container storage capacity, but will also allow them to make a further step towards sustainability, as power regeneration and solar panels on the roof help reduce the carbon dioxide footprint to a minimum”.
