EU Competition Law Supports Port Decarbonisation: Commission Issues First Informal Guidance on Electric Equipment Agreement

EU competition rules should not stand in the way of genuine cooperation aimed at advancing the net-zero economy. This was the message echoed by Commissioner Teresa Ribera in connection with a recent informal guidance letter from the European Commission. The letter assessed a cooperation agreement among port terminal operators intended to accelerate the transition from diesel to battery-electric container-handling equipment. The case illustrates that EU competition law, rather than acting as an obstacle, can support environmental objectives, provided certain safeguards are respected.

At the centre of the guidance is a request from APM Terminals, a major port terminal operator within the Maersk Group. APM Terminals sought the Commission’s view on an agreement with other operators to jointly purchase battery-electric straddle and shuttle carriers, key equipment used in container ports, and to jointly define minimum technical specifications for such equipment.

These electric carriers, while available, have been slow to gain traction in European ports. Higher upfront costs and a lack of interoperability between charging systems from different suppliers have held back adoption. The proposed agreement seeks to tackle these issues by:

• Pooling future demand to lower purchase costs,
• Giving suppliers greater certainty about future orders, and
• Promoting standardisation, especially around charging equipment.

The Commission concluded that such cooperation, structured correctly, does not infringe Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which prohibits anticompetitive agreements. In particular, the Commission noted that the agreement would be acceptable if it includes safeguards ensuring that:

1. each terminal operator retains the freedom to make independent purchasing decisions;
2. the pooled volume of demand is limited, so as not to distort supplier competition; and
3. any exchange of competitively sensitive information is kept strictly to what is necessary for the agreement to function.

This informal guidance was issued under the Commission’s revised 2022 Notice on Informal Guidance, a mechanism that allows companies to seek clarification on how EU competition rules apply to novel or unresolved situations. While EU competition law operates on a system of self-assessment, the Notice allows the Commission to offer informal views—especially useful where sustainability-related cooperation might otherwise deter companies concerned about legal risk.

This is one of the first guidance letters issued under the 2022 Notice, alongside another concerning licensing negotiations in the automotive sector. Although the Commission’s guidance is non-binding and based solely on the facts provided, it offers companies valuable insight into the boundaries of lawful cooperation under EU competition law.

Crucially, this case signals the Commission’s willingness to provide legal certainty to businesses pursuing collaborative sustainability initiatives. By recognising the unique challenges of decarbonising port operations and supporting pragmatic solutions, EU competition law is shown here to be a facilitator, not a roadblock, on the path to environmental progress.

The Commission will publish a non-confidential version of the guidance under case number AT.40976 in its public register once confidentiality issues are resolved.