Large drones can already carry loads of up to two tons, said HHLA and confirmed a report by the daily Hamburger Abendblatt. HHLA had examined the technicalities with the Fraunhofer Center in Hamburg-Harburg. The economic feasibility will be assessed in the next step.
Meanwhile, the Hamburg TruckPilot project by HHLA and MAN truck is gaining momentum and testing the use of autonomous trucks. The first prototypes have recently been tested at the Altenwerder container terminal, Titzrath said. HHLA is driving digitalisation ahead in the port, she said, adding: “We will continuously invest in the quality and profitability of our core business and identify and drive forward new, especially digital growth areas, to this end.” The project is crucial to the city’s strategy in the run-up to the 28th ITS World Congress (Intelligent Transport Systems) which Hamburg is hosting from October 10-14, 2021.