The end of 2023 saw DHL Express UK announce a £16 million investment in electric ground service vehicles and infrastructure at East Midlands Airport. The investment will see the introduction of 100 pieces of new electric ground service equipment (GSE) in line with DHL’s plans to make its airport ground-handling operation fully electric by 2032.
As well as 28 electric tugs, the investment will see the acquisition of five electric ‘nose lifter’ vehicles which lift aircraft to push them back from their parking stands, five high-loaders and six electric belt-loaders to loose load shipments.
Over the Christmas period DHL’s operations at East Midlands saw more than one million individual items pass through the airport each night with freight items ranging from household items, personal electronic devices and clothes to luxury cars, medical supplies and manufactured components. By the end of the financial year, EMA predicts that 400,000 tonnes of goods will have been handled, underlining the crucial role the airport plays as a hub for goods coming from and to all over the world.
Describing DHL’s investment as a “positive development” for the industry as it takes steps to decarbonise, East Midlands Airport’s Managing Director, Steve Griffiths, also said: “We’re committed to becoming a net zero airport by 2038 and innovations like DHL’s help move us a step closer to that goal. As the UK’s largest pure air cargo hub, the port of East Midlands Freeport, an early adopter of green innovation in the aviation industry and a site with further untapped potential, I believe there is a bright future for us.”
In addition to its investment in electric GSE, DHL is investing £7 million in replacing and enhancing non-electric GSE such as de-icing rigs. James Neill, VP Operations EMA Hub at DHL Express UK concluded: “We are excited to be making this investment in our operations at EMA and showcase our commitment to using the latest green innovations. As well as making progress in reducing emissions resulting directly from flights and aviation fuel, it’s important that we’re looking at every aspect of our operation to make gains everywhere we can.”
Header image: (C) DHL Express UK
