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EUROGATE, one of Europe’s largest container terminal and logistics groups, and Embotech, a Swiss pioneer in safety-certified Level-4 autonomy, have launched a second pilot project for Autonomous Terminal Tractors (ATTs) at the EUROGATE marine terminal in Hamburg. The six-month pilot started at the end of January and builds on the successful technical feasibility pilot completed at EUROGATE Wilhelmshaven.

From Feasibility to Operational Evaluation
While the Wilhelmshaven pilot validated the technical maturity of Embo-tech’s Autonomous Tractor Solution (ATS) across landside and waterside operations, the Hamburg pilot shifts the focus to operational performance. The autonomous tractors will carry out container transport moves between the railway terminal and the container terminal via straddle carrier inter-change zones, covering a critical segment of horizontal container move-ment. Performance will be assessed through throughput, availability, and process stability under day-to-day terminal conditions.
“This second pilot represents a logical next step,” said Johannes Stelten, Managing Director EUROGATE Container Terminal Hamburg. “After validating the technical capabilities of autonomous terminal tractors in Wilhelms-haven, Hamburg allows us to evaluate how autonomy performs against operational KPIs and within commercial terminal processes.”

New Automation Capability: Autonomous Coupling
A key technical addition in Hamburg is automated coupling between trac-tor and trailer, supplied by AUCOS. The AUCOS Coup system connects air, power, and data via the kingpin, allowing tractor–trailer coupling without manual intervention. The system integrates with Embotech’s AV Kit, ena-bling precise reverse maneuvers and trailer buffering required in both the railway terminal and straddle carrier interchange zones. This capability en-hances operational efficiency while maintaining high safety standards.

Operating in Mixed-Traffic Environments
The Hamburg pilot tests autonomous tractors in mixed traffic, sharing lanes with manually driven terminal vehicles and working alongside strad-dle carrier processes. Embotech’s ATS continuously plans trajectories in real time, adapting to dynamic interactions and maintaining safe and predicta-ble movement throughout terminal operations.

“Autonomy only creates value when it performs reliably in daily operations,” said Niklas Thomas, Head of Business Development at Embotech. “This pilot lets us evaluate our system against operational and commercial benchmarks in close cooperation with EUROGATE and our partners.”

The project demonstrates a stepwise approach to autonomy - from feasibil-ity and certification to operational evaluation - in a live mixed-traffic environment.

- DACT launches operations with first port call of “Essen Express”

- New terminal in Damietta, Egypt, with up to 3.3 million TEU capacity

- Over 600 million USD invested in modern, sustainable infrastructure

Bremen, Feb. 13th, 2026 - Hapag-Lloyd´s “Essen Express” (13,117 TEU) will be the vessel to call at the Damietta Alliance Container Terminal (DACT) facility on Saturday, February 14th, marking the launch of operations at the new Egyptian terminal.

Tom Eckelmann, CEO of EUROGATE, stated: “It is a very special moment when the intensive work of many years comes to fruition and a modern, high-performance container terminal finally begins operations. I am proud of and grateful for the work done so far by our colleagues and partners, who have worked hand in hand to ensure that DACT can now prove its efficiency. Together, we want to ensure that DACT takes on its leading role as the Gemini Cooperation's hub terminal in the Eastern Mediterranean.”

Damietta Alliance Container Terminal (DACT) has been designed primarily for transshipment operations and will have an annual handling capacity of up to 3.3 million TEU. The expected cargo mix is approximately 80 percent transshipment and 20 percent import and export, serving both the Egyptian market, including Damietta and Greater Cairo, and regional markets such as the Levant and the Black Sea.

The DACT facility covers an area of approximately 93 hectares and features a quay length of 1,670 meters with a water depth of 18 meters. The Terminal is equipped with 12 fully electric ship-to-shore cranes with a 25-row outreach and 40 hybrid rubber-tyred gantry cranes. Additional equipment includes spreaders, lashing cages, out-of-gauge frames and rail infrastructure with six train lanes, of which two are operational at launch.

Damietta Alliance Container Terminals S.A.E. is a joint venture established to develop and operate the DACT terminal. Shareholders are Hapag-Lloyd Damietta GmbH (39%) (represented by Hanseatic Global Terminals), EUROGATE Damietta GmbH (29.5%) and CONTSHIP Damietta S.p.A. (29.5%), together with Ship & C.R.E.W. Egypt S.A.E. (1%) and Middle East Logistics & Consultants Group (1%).

The first phase of the project represented an investment of more than USD 600 million.

DACT places a strong focus on occupational safety, environmental performance and energy efficiency. The use of electric and hybrid handling equipment is intended to reduce emissions and support more sustainable terminal operations. The company is actively involved in an open and constructive dialogue with local communities and stakeholders in Damietta.

More info https://www.damiettaalliance.com

EUROGATE and APM Terminals, a subsidiary of A.P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk), aim for and are in advanced negotiations for a long-term partnership under which they plan to invest one billion Euro in the modernisation of their joint container terminal North Sea Terminal Bremerhaven (NTB).

The one billion Euro investment aims to upgrade NTB into one of the world’s most efficient and resilient container handling facilities, with zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions operations. The plan is to modernise the equipment and increase the terminal’s capacity from 3 to 4 million TEU throughput annually.

Through the electrification of equipment and the use of renewable electricity, the terminal is intended to operate with zero GHG emissions, the first of its kind in Germany. The planned investments remain subject to internal and external approvals.

“Bremerhaven has unique potential to grow as a strategic hub in the region and to support cargo flows into Germany as well as our ocean network. Our investments are intended to realise the full potential of the terminal, making NTB one of the most competitive terminals in Europe’s North Range. We aim to future-proof the terminal over the long term, while strengthening the reliability and resilience of supply chains for the German economy,” says Vincent Clerc, CEO of A.P. Moller – Maersk.

“With our NTB terminal we can proudly look back on more than 25 years of successful partnership with Maersk and APM Terminals and look forward to continuing this success story together in the future,” says Michael Blach, Chairman of the EUROGATE Group Management Board. “The joint project to equip the terminal with state-of-the-art technology and to decarbonize the operations, thereby making NTB fit for the coming decades, shows how convinced we are of the future success of Bremerhaven as a location in the global maritime trade network. The modernisation of the NTB sets standards and also secures many high-value jobs in the region in the long term.”

“The fact that Maersk, a global market leader, is so strongly committed to Bremerhaven is impressive proof of the efficiency of our ports and of EUROGATE,” says Andreas Bovenschulte, Mayor of Bremen. “I very much welcome Maersk's intention to expand and intensify its 25 years of successful cooperation at the Bremerhaven site. With Maersk's announced investments in the port's superstructure and the state and federal government's investments in the port infrastructure, Bremerhaven will be well positioned for the future and its importance in the North Range will be strengthened. Now it is up to the federal government to press ahead with the deepening of the Outer Weser and implement it quickly.”

In addition to the investments, the deepening of the Outer Weser river is an essential prerequisite for fully unlocking the potential of the upgraded terminal. A corresponding planning process is currently underway at the level of the public administration.

Bremen, 9 January 2026 – Marcel Egger, member of the Group Executive Board and Chief Financial Officer of the EUROGATE Group, has asked the EUROGATE shareholders to terminate his contract for health reasons and has left the company on 31 December 2025. Following a serious illness early last year, he is now well on the road to a full recovery, but a return to the high level of work intensity he has always set for himself is currently neither conceivable nor responsible for him.

Michael Blach, Chairman of the EUROGATE Group Management Board, said on the occasion of this decision: "We respect Marcel Egger's decision, as it is the only sensible one in this difficult situation. A person's health takes precedence over professional interests, and we are very pleased that Marcel's recovery process is progressing so positively. However, we also regret this development because he has accompanied and significantly led our company for over 25 years with great responsibility, foresight and personal commitment. Many of the developments and foundations on which we work and build today bear his signature. Growth, stability and cohesion were not just buzzwords for him, but a way of life.We would like to thank Marcel Egger for his extraordinary lifetime achievement and his deep connection to our company. We wish him all the best for the future, above all strength, confidence and good health."

EUROGATE shareholder and founding father Thomas Eckelmann, who brought Marcel Egger to EUROKAI in 1991, said: "It is with great sadness that I now let Marcello go. He has dedicated his life to EUROKAI for the last 34 years and to EUROGATE since 1999, always acting as both a driving force and a voice of reason with outstanding analytical skills. He has significantly influenced our manifold decisions throughout this time, always keeping the well-being and future of our companies in mind. I have the utmost respect for his work, his reliability and his dedication. However, his health is even more important to me, and I therefore fully support the decision that has now been made."

Proving reliable autonomy for the complete horizontal transport cycle in a container terminal

EUROGATE, one of Europe’s leading container terminal and logistics companies, and Em-botech, a premier provider of autonomous driving solutions, have, in cooperation with MAFI, a trusted manufacturer of terminal tractors, and ICT Group, a renowned European provider of industrial technology solutions, successfully completed a pilot project demonstrating the maturity and flexibility of Embotech’s Autonomous Tractor Solutions (ATS) at the EUROGATE Container Terminal Wilhelmshaven. The pro-ject passed all tests for 18 different use cases, confirming that the sys-tem meets demanding port-logistics requirements.

Key achievements include:
• Operations in mixed traffic and all-weather conditions
• Exact positioning under quay cranes – ensuring precise container handovers for waterside operations.
• Interaction with rail crane terminal
• Backwards driving with centimeter-level precision
• Localisation in GPS denied areas – safe & precise driving without reli-ance on satellite signals
• Integration with Terminal IT – seamless connection between Embo-tech’s Fleet Management System (FMS) and the Equipment Control System (ECS) as gateway to TOS

The tests were performed on a MAFI terminal tractor with a NextG drive by wire, demonstrating that Embotech’s ATS is vehicle-agnostic and adapta-ble to different truck platforms.

Voices from the Collaboration
“Working with Embotech, MAFI and ICT on this pilot underscores how au-tonomous driving can be deployed safely and effectively in our terminal environment,” said Henrik Landau, Project Manager of this Proof-of-Concept at EUROGATE. “Passing all tests confirms that autonomous tech-nology can integrate with our operations and IT systems while meeting the highest safety standards.”

Embotech’s Head of Business Development Niklas Thomas added: “This collaboration with EUROGATE allowed us to prove that our ATS can serve as the main mode of horizontal transport on both Landside and Waterside. The successful pilot is an important milestone on the path to scalable, au-tonomous terminal logistics.”

About the Autonomous Tractor Solution (ATS)
Embotech’s ATS enables safe, fully autonomous operation of terminal trucks in container ports and logistics hubs. Designed for mixed-traffic en-vironments and all-weather conditions, ATS executes complex maneuvers with real-time trajectory planning rather than pre-defined routes. The sys-tem integrates with terminal management and equipment control sys-tems to optimize throughput and ensure consistent, safe operations with-out manual intervention.