Creating Instead of Simply Buying: Unique Technologies Emerging Inside a Port Company
Klaipeda Stevedoring Company Bega is finalizing another in-house technological solution — an autonomous electric locomotive powered by an electric motor manufactured in Lithuania and equipped with locally produced lithium battery systems. At the same time, the project also highlights the structural competitiveness challenges faced by private port operators: in Lithuania, port innovation is still being developed almost entirely through private capital and risk, while competitors across the region actively benefit from state and EU funding mechanisms.
This year marks a decade since “Bega” launched the electrification of its railway locomotive fleet, and this summer the company will place its sixth fully autonomous electric locomotive into operation — a solution with no direct equivalent either in Baltic Sea region ports or within the broader railway sector.
“We are not a transport manufacturing company — our core business is cargo transshipment between land transport and vessels. Naturally, our primary focus remains on cargo handling operations. At the same time, in order to remain competitive and environmentally responsible, we continuously improve our handling technologies and equipment. We do not want to rely solely on purchasing ready-made solutions from the market, which is why we design, manufacture and implement so many technologies ourselves. One such example is our railway robots, which have already become something of a calling card for ‘Bega’,” says Laimonas Rimkus, the company’s Chief Executive Officer.
According to him, the electrification and robotisation of railway locomotives follows the principles of the circular economy by converting decommissioned diesel locomotives into modern electric units. All engineering, design and installation work is carried out by “Bega” specialists — engineers, automation experts and other technical personnel. Rimkus notes that such projects also create opportunities for young professionals to apply and develop their capabilities:
“We can clearly see that the opportunity to create and innovate within the company attracts young specialists. They feel that we are not merely a conventional service provider, but a business that creates technological added value.”
Economic and Environmental Impact
To date, “Bega” has developed and manufactured four plug-in technology locomotives and one prototype autonomous battery-powered locomotive, which is already successfully operating in daily terminal activities, performing rail wagon shunting operations.
While the prototype incorporated a number of reused components, the newest electric locomotive is being developed in cooperation with the Lithuanian company Elinta Motors, which has extensive international experience in vehicle electrification projects and is supplying the electric motor, battery systems and selected control components for the “Bega” project.
“When converting a TGM-40 type locomotive, we retain the original structural frame, bogies and braking systems, while replacing the internal combustion engine with a 160 kW electric motor. Since locomotive shunting operations do not require speed, the real ‘magic’ comes from the reduction gearbox, which increases torque output by a factor of 32. As a result, the locomotive will easily be capable of hauling 20 fully loaded wagons — approximately 2,000 tonnes. That is entirely sufficient for manoeuvring operations at wagon loading and unloading stations,” explains Paulius Voveraitis, Head of Automation Service at “Bega”.
According to Voveraitis, the locomotive will be equipped with two 42 kWh lithium battery packs, with a planned charging time of up to three hours. Operational endurance during wagon handling operations in the terminals is expected to exceed 24 hours, particularly as approximately 50–60% of energy will be regenerated during braking and deceleration.
Unlike conventional locomotives, “Bega’s” electric railway robots do not require onboard drivers. They are operated remotely by specially trained dock workers involved directly in cargo handling processes. Most importantly, the electric locomotives generate zero direct emissions and consume energy only during active wagon movement, delivering both economic and environmental benefits.
EU Funding Remains Inaccessible
According to Rimkus, while planning the latest locomotive conversion project, the company also considered adapting the platform for operation using green hydrogen fuel, particularly given that hydrogen production infrastructure is planned within the Port of Klaipėda.
“It is only natural that, having accumulated significant expertise in electrification, we first continue developing and expanding technologies that have already been successfully tested in practice. However, next-generation solutions such as hydrogen technologies require substantially larger investments and broader development conditions. These are expensive projects with long payback periods, meaning business needs incentives or support mechanisms to undertake them. Unfortunately, such support does not currently exist at national level, because port companies — formally classified as large service-sector businesses rather than manufacturers — are effectively excluded from access to EU or state investment programmes.
We neither want nor can engage in fictitious arrangements whereby equipment intended for one purpose is formally declared for another simply to qualify for funding, although we are aware that such cases already exist within the competitive environment. We have repeatedly raised this issue and proposed changes to the state’s position, especially considering that in neighbouring countries EU funding is accessible to port operators. This distorts competition and slows technological advancement within Lithuania’s maritime industry,” says Rimkus, who also serves as President of the Lithuanian Stevedoring Companies Association.
He adds that, under favourable conditions, the newest electric robotic locomotive developed by “Bega” could also be adapted for operation using alternative fuel technologies in the future.