Cologne/Bonn Airport intends to largely eliminate the diesel generators currently used on the apron. These are to be replaced by electric ground power units. The airport wants to become a little more environmentally friendly.
Cologne/Bonn Airport has been modernizing apron vehicles for some time now. For example, electric luggage tugs, passenger stairs and buses have already been purchased. Now, where possible, the aim is to replace the generators that are no longer considered up-to-date and are used to supply aircraft with ground power with electrical alternatives. Generators are no longer used at many airports, but connection options to the airport power grid are available.
The purchase of new electric units for ground power supply is being funded with a total of 675.000 euros by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) as part of the funding program for market activation of alternative technologies for the climate- and environmentally friendly supply of aircraft with ground power at airports (Ground Power Directive). .
“Our airport is further reducing CO2 by purchasing electrical units. This brings us one step closer to the milestone of a climate-neutral apron by 2035. We are pleased that the project is being supported accordingly,” says Thilo Schmid, CEO of Flughafen Köln/Bonn GmbH. To date, conventional ground equipment at Cologne Bonn Airport has been used in parking positions that cannot be supplied with power directly at the passenger boarding bridges. Ground power units (GPUs) provide power for electrical devices on board an aircraft when the aircraft's auxiliary engine is switched off.
From 2035 at the latest, only vehicles and devices with emission-free drives will be used on the aprons at Cologne Bonn Airport. The airport's sustainable mobility concept includes all modes of transport and also takes movement on campus into account. It was launched in 2022 and aims to achieve a comprehensive, timely expansion of the e-charging infrastructure. Important topics are the optimal networking of different modes of transport, the simplest, most flexible, digital use possible and a wide range of sustainable transport options.
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