Green taxiing initiatives: environmental, financial, business and operational impacts

Greentaxiinginitiatives:environmental,financial,businessandoperationalimpacts MAY2024 AUTHORS GABRIELSCHILLACI Partner NIKHILSACHDEVA Principal MONABENZEKRI CaseTeamLeader Ground-leveldecarbonizationeffortsofferpromisingavenuestoreduceairportplatforms’emissions. Inthepursuitofdecarbonizationintheaviationindustry,amultitudeofgroundbreakingsolutionsareemergingtoaddresscarbonemissions,bothduringflightandontheground.Whileconsiderableattentionhasbeendevotedtoreducingemissionsenroute,recentinitiativesaretargetinggroundoperations,alsobenefitingtolocalcommunitiesandairportpersonnel. Taxiingemissionscanbeasignificantcontributortoairports’carbonfootprint,highlightingtheimportanceofground-leveldecarbonization. Aviationaccountsforc.3%ofglobalenergy-relatedCO2emissions,andhavegrowninthelastdecadesduetotrafficincreasealthoughunitemissionsperPAXtendtodecrease.Amongthese3%,approximately10-15%areattributedtoairportplatforms.Asinternationaltraveldemandrecovers,followingtheCovid-19pandemic,manymeasuresarerequiredtocurbthegrowthofcarbonemissions,amongwhichground-leveldecarbonizationinitiatives.Theyencompassadiversearrayofstrategies,includingthetransitiontosustainablepowersourcesforGroundSupportEquipment(GSE)andtheimplementationofinnovativesolutionstominimizecarbonfootprints. Amongthesestrategies,thegreeningofGSEstandsoutasapivotalstepinthejourneytowardssustainableaviation.Thistransition,fromrelianceondieselpowertoembracingelectricorhydrogen-basedalternatives,hasbeenunderwayforsometime,startingwithbaggagecartsandgraduallyextendingtoheavier equipmentsuchashighloaders,transporters,andpushbacktractors.Byreducingemissionsgeneratedduringgroundoperations,airportscansignificantlymitigatetheirenvironmentalimpactandcontributetobroadersustainabilitygoals. Anotherkeyaspectofground-leveldecarbonizationrevolvesaroundoptimizingonboardsystemstominimizeenergyconsumption.Bylimitingtheusageofonboardairconditioningandelectricsupplythroughauxiliarypowerunits(APUs),airportscanreduceemissionsassociatedwithaircraftstanding,whileimprovingoveralloperationalefficiencyandreducingnoise.Furthermore,effortsareunderwaytoconnectPre-ConditionedAir(PCA)directlyfromairportinfrastructuretoaircraft,eliminatingtheneedforACUoronboardairconditioningduringgroundoperations.Similarly,connectinggroundpowersources,suchas400HzorelectricalGroundPowerUnits(e-GPUs),furtherreducesemissionsbyeliminatingtheneedforAPUswhileparkedatgates.However,suchinitiativesneedstrictprocessestobeestablishedandappliedbystakeholders–airports,airlines,groundhandlersandOEMs-inordertoensurealternativemeasurestoAPUareproperlyused. Emergingasaparticularlypromisingsolution,"greentaxiing"initiativesaregainingtractionintheaviationindustry.Theseinitiativesinvolvethedeploymentofhybrid,electric,andpotentiallyhydrogen-poweredvehiclescapableoftowingaircraftfromgatestorunways,therebyminimizingengineuseduringtaxiing–asaircraftarethentaxiedwithenginesoff.Thesesolutionsarebeingdevelopedandrolled-outforbothnarrow-bodyorandwide-bodyaircraft. Anticipatingoperationalimpacts Variousstagesofagreentaxiingprocedure 1Connectiontoaircraft 2Preparation 3Push-back AA pp rr oo nn 6Returnofvehicletothenextapronviaserviceroutes A 5Disconnectionofvehicleandaircrafttake-off 4Tractionviaaircraftlanesuptothedisconnectionarea A p rTake-off on Disconnectionp arear on TowingvehicleAircraft SourceRolandBerger Despitetherelativelysmallcontributionoftaxiingtooverallemissionsforairlines(typicallylessthan5%),theimpactonairportplatformscanbesubstantial,particularlyforlargehubairportswheretaxiingcanaccountforupto25%oftheiremissions.Thisunderscoresthesignificanceofimplementingdecarbonizationsolutionsatgroundleveltoachievemeaningfulreductionsingreenhousegasemissionsandimproveairqualityforairportcommunities. Theseenvironmentalgainscanvarysignificantlydependingontheairport’sexistinginfrastructureandairlines'standardpractices,thusrequiringadhoctechnicalandeconomicassessments. Roughlyaquarterofairportemissionsgeneratedduringtaxiing Airportemissionsbysource[Exampleofalargeinternationalhub;%] Totalairportemissions 100% On-sitepowergeneration 2% Airportvehicles 0% Electricityconsumption 1% Taxiing 24% Take-off 20% Approach 10% APU 3% PAX/employeesaccess 24% Construction 13% Groundserviceequipment 2% Wastetreatmentandother 1% Scope1Scope2Scope3 SourceRolandBerger Greentaxiingsolutionsareemerging Beyondtheirsustainabilitybenefits,thedeploymentofgreentaxiingsolutionscanyieldeconomicbenefits,particularlyconsideringtheupwardtrendsinairlinecosts. Implementingsuchsolutionsrequiresconsideringboththegeneratedbenefitsandtheincurredcosts–factorsheavilydependentoneachairportplatformandthecoststructureofairlinesandgroundoperatorsherein. Mostbenefitswouldpresumablyaccruetoairlines,astheystandtogainfromcostsavingsinjetfuel(incl.theimpactofaclimbingshareofSAF),CO2costs(particularlyETSforEuropean-boundmovements),avoidedenginemaintenanceexpenses,etc. Ontheotherhand,significantcostsandinvestmentsmaybenecessary,bothfor: •Airportplatforms,forinfrastructureu