Zero-emission airports

Global warming is one of the biggest challenges of our century, and the aviation sector is a large contributor to climate change. Following the Paris Agreement, many governments set a target to reduce emissions. Social pressure demanding green ways of transportation is also increasing. As a result, many airports are looking for ways to reduce their emissions, especially in Europe. The first target: all ground-based activities must be emission free by 2030.

Betting on the right horse

The change to emission-free ground service operations, requires investments in new equipment. To make a solid investment decision, several questions needs to be answered:

• What is the total cost of ownership of new equipment?
• What infrastructure needs to be developed by the airport?
• How will the introduction of new equipment change daily airline operations?

Since there are still many unknowns, it is a complex decision to make. More research is required, especially for large types of equipment, in order to be certain of the investment.

Electric push-back trucks and their operational implications

In our research, we are focusing on the operational impact of electric push-back trucks. Electric vehicles need to be charged at a fixed charging point, as opposed to diesel vehicles which can be filled up anywhere at any moment in time. To assess how this affects operations, we are developing an optimization model for a typical vehicle routing problem.

Scheduling electric push-back trucks

We are developing new algorithms to model airport operations in detail. In our model, all aircraft need to be towed from gate to runway (exit ramp to gate), as electric taxiing will be the standard. However, trucks need to be charged before they run out of battery. The model schedules which truck tows which aircraft and determines when a truck must return to the charging station. It studies optimal charging strategies to improve operations and minimize the required investments. The results of our study are expected early 2021.

Sustainability & you

At ORTEC we believe in co-creation, especially in the field of sustainability where innovative solutions need to be developed. We are very interested in your ideas, your challenges, and your vision to achieve emission-free transportation. Please reach out to us to continue the discussion. Together, we will create value for business, society, and the environment at large!

About the authors

Guido de Wit is Practice Lead Sustainability within ORTEC. He is in charge of developing the right propositions to make a positive, sustainable impact with mathematics. Guido has extensive experience as a consultant in the aviation industry and the energy sector.

Julia Brevoord is an Applied Mathematics – Stochastic Operations Research student from the University of Twente. Julia has a passion for sustainability and logistics. She sees the integration of mathematics and sustainability as crucial to make a difference in combating climate change.