This is the first trial of its kind in Europe, and the second globally, marking a significant step forward in ground handling sustainability, with initial tests indicating that using the electric de-icer will reduce greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides, by 87% per truck each year.
Menzies Aviation and Vestergaard Company’s partnership on this trial results from their long-standing relationship, with Menzies currently operating 11 Vestergaard rigs as part of its de-icing fleet at Oslo. Menzies Oslo’s team of over 40 de-icing specialists have provided de-icing services since 2016, dealing with complex, large-scale operations and performing more than 5,000 turns over a typical season between the months of September to May.
Vestergaard Company is a frontrunner when it comes to sustainability within ground handling and its goal is to offer a fully sustainable version of its product line for performing CO2 neutral ground handling operations by 2030. The e-BETA is seen as a critical part of this journey, reducing the environmental footprint by significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
This trial complements Menzies’ ‘Go Green’ project, established in Oslo in 2018, through which Menzies has made significant investment into reduced emissions ground handling equipment to lower its carbon footprint; last year, some 90% of ramp equipment was replaced with modern, electric units. Should the trial be successful and the electric Elephant be rolled out, 97% of Menzies’ Oslo-based ground support equipment would become electric.
