The airport tested the deicer last year and has placed an order for two units to be delivered before next season.
The Elephant e-BETA is an electric version of the BETA deicer, and on a full charge, it can deice between 10 and 15 aircraft without running the chassis’ engine.
It comes with an OEM lithium-ion battery, charged either via an on-board charger or via a generator on the PTO (power take off) of the diesel engine.
Operators can drive to gate areas or remote pads using the diesel engine, turn off the engine and do the deicing job.
A full charge takes eight to nine hours using a single-phase and the on-board charger, or four to five hours with a three-phase charger.
Martin Hofmann, Head of Stuttgart Airport GSE fleet, said that using conventional BETAs has significantly reduced the environmental impact and the amount of deicing fluid used.
He said: “Vestergaard offered us the opportunity to test the e-BETA in 2021. The possibility of noticeable reduced greenhouse gasses, including carbon dioxide and sound emissions during deicing operations, convinced us to procure this pioneering technology as part of the further implementation of our EFLEET concept.”
Stuttgart Airport will also take delivery of a fully electric Vestergaard water service unit this summer.
