CIAL to power parked aircraft with bridge-mounted equipment, cut ground emissions
Cochin International Airport's ₹15.04-cr initiative introduces bridge-mounted equipment, enabling aircraft to draw electricity and air from infrastructure, reducing emissions and noise.
Cochin International Airport's ₹15.04-cr initiative introduces bridge-mounted equipment, enabling aircraft to draw electricity and air from infrastructure, reducing emissions and noise.
Cochin International Airport's ₹15.04-cr initiative introduces bridge-mounted equipment, enabling aircraft to draw electricity and air from infrastructure, reducing emissions and noise.
Kochi: Aircraft parked at Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) will soon be able to draw electricity and conditioned air directly from airport infrastructure, reducing their dependence on onboard Auxiliary Power Units (APUs) and diesel-powered ground equipment under a new ₹15.04-cr initiative by CIAL.
The airport operator is introducing Bridge-Mounted Equipment (BME) at its aerobridges, a system that is expected to prevent approximately 122–145 kg of carbon dioxide emissions for every hour of operation, besides reducing noise on the airport apron.
The facility will be inaugurated on September 24 by Chief Minister and CIAL Chairman V D Satheesan.
The BME project includes 10 bridge-mounted 90 kVA Ground Power Units (GPUs) and 10 bridge-mounted 90 TR Pre-Conditioned Air (PCA) units. CIAL will also have one mobile GPU and one mobile PCA unit as part of the facility.
The system addresses an important source of fuel consumption while aircraft are on the ground. Even when an aircraft is parked at an aerobridge, its essential onboard systems require electrical power and its cabin needs conditioned air. These requirements are conventionally met using the aircraft's APU or diesel-powered ground equipment.
The APU, while designed to provide power and other services when an aircraft's main engines are not operating, consumes aviation fuel and produces emissions. Similarly, diesel-powered ground equipment contributes to fuel consumption, exhaust emissions and noise around the apron.
With the BME system, aircraft positioned at aerobridges can instead receive electrical power and pre-conditioned air from airport infrastructure. This will substantially reduce the need to keep APUs running or use diesel-powered equipment during the period aircraft remain parked.
The environmental significance of the project is particularly relevant to CIAL’s long-standing focus on renewable energy. Cochin International Airport became the world’s first fully solar-powered airport in 2015, and CIAL currently has a total installed solar capacity of 50 MWp. Its renewable-energy portfolio has since expanded to include a 4.5 MW hydroelectric power project at Arippara in Kozhikode district.
The project is also expected to improve the apron environment by reducing noise associated with running aircraft APUs and diesel-powered ground equipment.