Menzies Aviation, in collaboration with Wizz Air and Budapest Airport, aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045.Continue reading
At Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport, aircraft ground power is supplied to fourteen aircraft stands by a more modern and environmentally friendly electric power converter than the previous diesel generator, Turizmus.com reports.
The necessary infrastructure is provided by Budapest Airport, including the integration of aircraft ground power into the green energy supply, thus contributing to achieving net zero emissions. Budapest Airport applied for the European Union’s CEF 2 Transport – Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility grant program in 2022, with its Net Zero Airport project, which included the purchase of eight 90 kW electric-powered Ground Power Units (GPUs). The company has also installed six additional 90kW GPUs as part of the 2023 Cargo Apron Expansion project.
These units will also provide power to aircraft not parked in the aircraft stand to operate computers, air conditioning, or even lighting when they are stationary and engines are shut down.
The innovation not only contributes to sustainability, but also to the smoothness of the journey, as the old diesel units had to be towed to the aircraft and then retrieved when the charging was complete. With the new equipment installed directly at the stands, power is available immediately after the aircraft has parked outside the building.
Budapest Airport plans to replace all diesel-powered GPUs with electric ones.
The subsidized project also includes a grant contract for the installation of 83 electric charging stations and 102 charging points, for which the European Union will provide a subsidy of nearly HUF 650 million (EUR 1.6 million). The other half of the development will be carried out by Budapest Airport using its own resources.
Via Turizmus.com, Featured image: Facebook/Budapest Airport