Munich Airport’s fleet of de-icing vehicles have been boosted by the arrival of the all-electric ‘Elephant e-BETA’ from Danish manufacturer, Vestergaard. EFM, the company responsible for de-icing and aircraft towing at the German gateway has been using the environmentally friendly vehicle since the beginning of the week.
The ‘Elephant e-BETA’ is the first electric de-icing vehicle, according to Vestergaard. The spray arms and nozzles, which are driven by electric motors, perform the de-icing of aircraft silently and effectively. At the heart of the vehicle is a lithium-ion battery power pack that enables the electric de-icing of around 10 to 15 aircraft. This enables the vehicle to complete about two to three hours of operation without needing to be recharged.
The vehicle still drives to the de-icing areas with a conventional diesel engine, so can be used flexibly, but at the site itself, the engine is switched off and the all-electric de-icing begins. Compared with conventional de-icing vehicles, the electric version can avoid up to 87% of the CO2 emissions caused by a traditional vehicle and has achieved good results in the handling of sensitive aircraft in the test phase so far.
With a vision of operating in a CO2 neutral manner by 2030 at the latest, the new electric de-icing vehicle fits in perfectly with the airport’s climate strategy.
