The fleet of de-icing vehicles at Munich Airport has now received particularly environmentally friendly support: the fully electric “Elephant e-BETA” from Danish manufacturer Vestergaard has been in use at EFM, the company for de-icing and aircraft towing at Munich Airport, since the beginning of the week.

According to the manufacturer, the “Elephant e-BETA” is the first electric de-icing vehicle. "The spray arms and nozzles, which are driven by electric motors, de-icing the aircraft silently and effectively," reports the airport.

The heart of the vehicle is a generously dimensioned lithium-ion battery power pack that enables around 10 to 15 aircraft to be electrically de-iced. This means that the de-icing vehicle can run for around two to three hours without having to be recharged. The vehicle drives to the de-icing areas with a conventional diesel engine and can therefore be used flexibly - but the engine is switched off at the site itself and fully electric de-icing begins. Munich Airport aims to be CO2030-neutral by 2 at the latest.