Milan airports management company SEA has presented its finalized electrification project to the EU Parliament.
The project, named eMago, has been funded with €4.4m (US$4.7m) by Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), an EU funding program managed by the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). In total, the total project is to cost of €14m (US$15m), and is anticipated to continue for 36 months.
The company will implement 84 aircraft ground power units (AGPU) –34 at Linate and 50 at Malpensa – to provide power to aircraft during ground operations, after landing and before take-off. The activation of these units will eliminate the use of onboard generators and ground generators powered by fossil fuels This is to lead to a reduction in CO2 emissions and other pollutants generated by airport operations. Thanks in part to these initiatives, Milan airports are expected to align with the mandate of the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation by 2027, which requires exclusively fixed electrical power for aircraft on the ground by 2030.
Furthermore, eMago includes the implementation of 94 electric charging stations – 31 at Linate and 63 at Malpensa – both airside and landside, to power all the airport vehicles. There are 100 “Smart Power Sockets” planned, 20 at Linate and 80 at Malpensa, to power ramp and ground support equipment (GSE).
Armando Brunini, CEO of SEA Milan Airports, commented, “The airport industry is addressing the environmental transition in synergy with all aviation stakeholders. It’s a long and complex journey, but it’s in our DNA to seek solutions, lead the way by introducing innovative technologies to achieve the zero-emissions goal.”
Paloma Aba Garrote, director of CINEA, said, “This event shows that project eMago can contribute with tangible results to the decarbonization of airports’ operations and that airports such as Milan Linate and Malpensa can lead the green transition toward the airports of the future. Selected for a total funding of €4.4m [US$4.7m] by the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Facility (AFIF) under CEF, the eMago project is part of an ambitious ‘2030 Net Zero strategy for airports’ and an essential milestone to reach the EU green deal’s objectives.”
Filip Cornelis, director for aviation, Directorate General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission, added, “Projects like the eMago are an important step in delivering our decarbonization goals, as we need to create more zero-emission airports in line with our sustainable and smart mobility strategy ambitions. Measures that the European Commission incentivizes in order to achieve this include the deployment of renewable and low-carbon fuels, feeding stationary aircraft with renewable power instead of fossil energy, and greening ground movements at airports.”
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