APM Terminals Maasvlakte II, at the Port of Rotterdam, has received five new automated and electric terminal tractors (ATT, for its acronym in English), developed jointly by Embotech and Terberg Special Vehicles. This delivery, the third received by the facility, raises the operational fleet to ten units, as part of a plan that aims to reach a total of 30 vehicles, which would make Maasvlakte II one of the largest automated terminal tractor operations in Europe. The full deployment is scheduled for early 2027.
According to APM Terminals, the tractors have recently passed the factory acceptance tests (FAT, Factory Acceptance Testing) and will begin site acceptance testing (SAT, Site Acceptance Testing) at Maasvlakte II in the coming months. The first units arrived at the terminal in July 2025, and by November of that same year, the first five ATT completed SAT tests under real operational conditions. APM Terminals has stated that these tests confirmed that the automated system can perform the essential vehicle functions in mixed traffic scenarios, with operations conducted under controlled conditions.
The validation included driving in mixed traffic, maneuvers in narrow lanes, lane changes, reverse parking at transfer points, and endurance testing. In parallel, Embotech's autonomous tractor solution received TÜV SÜD safety certification and CE marking at the end of 2025, confirming its compliance with European regulations for autonomous terminal tractors.
Giorgio Corbellini, director of operations at Embotech, has indicated that the tests conducted at APM Terminals Maasvlakte II have confirmed that the system operates reliably in the daily operations of the terminal and that each new batch of vehicles brings the fleet closer to full operational deployment.
The tractors are built on Terberg platforms and are factory-equipped with Embotech's autonomy system at Terberg's production facilities in Houten, Netherlands. The vehicles operate with level 4 autonomous driving technology, specifically designed for container terminal environments, and allow navigation in complex mixed traffic scenarios with centimeter-level movement planning accuracy and obstacle detection in all weather and lighting conditions.
Remy de Bruijn of Terberg Special Vehicles has explained that the development and manufacturing of electric terminal tractors with electronic steering, compliant with the machinery directive and validated for scalable autonomous operations, requires close integration between the vehicle platform and the autonomous driving system, and that the machines delivered to APM Terminals Maasvlakte II have been specifically designed to ensure that integration.
Once fully deployed, the fleet will transport containers between the automated rail-mounted gantry cranes (ARMG) on the land side and the rail terminal, operating alongside existing equipment as part of the ongoing capacity expansion at Maasvlakte II. The ATT will be charged using an automatic charging system without manual intervention supplied by Rocsys.
Marieke Frensch, technology director of APM Terminals Maasvlakte II, has stated that the priority is to ensure that the complete solution operates reliably in the daily operations of the terminal and, secondly, to ensure the reliability of the automated vehicles. According to Frensch, the structured work of testing and certification provides the basis for progressively integrating the fleet as the terminal expands. The next phase will focus on operational integration as new vehicles enter the testing phase at the terminal.