Yudu - Airside International March 2012

ENVIRONMENT | MUNICH AIRPORT

design using insulated glass on the outside walls facing the apron areas. Inside, the satellite will be separated from Terminal 2’s spaces by an additional glass wall which acts as a “climate buffer”. Materials will be used which allow heat entering the satellite building in the daytime to be converted into air-conditioning for the interior. Its ACI and EMAS certificates demonstrate that Munich Airport is do- ing a lot to make its new buildings as green as possible, but the ambi- tious Michael Wühle argues that still more could be done. “I have a lot of other ideas, but there’s always a difficult calculation to make between the initial costs and long-term gains. Not everyone at the airport is will- ing to calculate over a 30-year period,” he said.

Munich has introduced energy-reduction measures which are specific to airside operations. The TOFU (Telematik und Ortung im Fuhrparkman- agement) telematic system monitors the fleet of vehicles at a distance using GPS navigation.

“TOFU means we can optimise the transport routes for buses and other vehicles, and cut engines using the central computer system if they’ve been running for longer than five minutes. It’s a very efficient system,” Wühle said.

A change to the lighting system on the runway reduced airside elec- tricity usage. “We used to have lights on everywhere on the aprons at night. But now the lights only go on when the aircraft is in position and needs the lights. When there’s nothing going on, it’s dark. This saves a lot of emissions,” said Wühle.

A further plan for airside is to install pre-conditioned air (PCA) units at each terminal’s gate. The units will provide comfort air to parked air- craft, which will allow them to shut off their on-board auxiliary power units. This will have a major impact on ramp noise, congestion, fuel con- sumption and emissions. “Because aircraft can shut off their inefficient CO2 emissions, we will save another 20,000 tons of carbon. PCA units cost a lot, but our calculation is that they will reduce fuel consumption enough to make them efficient for both the airport and airline.” Munich Airport’s green policies for airside reduce energy use sig-

nificantly. But Wühle has high hopes of introducing an environmen- tal measure in the next two or three years which would have an even greater impact. “We hope to be the first airport in Europe to use biofuels for aircraft on an industrial scale,” he said. “We are fortunate in having a redundant fuel pipeline which we can use for biofuel. And the biofuel is readily

available from the Jatropha nut tree, which grows in Africa and Asia in desert areas which can’t be used for food production. I’m optimistic we can develop it in the next couple of years. We are planning a demo flight later this year.”

Using biofuels for some aircraft would have a dramatic effect on Mu- nich Airport’s Scope 3 emissions, which account for two thirds of its annual carbon footprint of 650,000 tons.

“The rules for Scope 3 emissions make us responsible for the landing

and take-off cycle. We count as our own any emissions under 3,000 feet. If we use biofuel for the domestic fleet of Lufthansa we will reduce our emissions by more than 100,000 tons a year,” Wühle said. He points out that the technology already exists and is already used by KLM and Air France for some of their domestic fl ights. In January this year, Lufthansa made the fi rst transatlantic fl ight (Frankfurt-Washington) with one engine running on biofuel. Munich has joined the Aviation Ini- tiative for Renewable Energy (AIREG) and is working with partners such as Lufthansa, Air Berlin and Rolls-Royce to make the biofuel plans a reality. “In the long-term, the ecological and economic factors will come together and it will pay for Munich Airport to adopt these measures,” said Wühle.

8 AIRSIDE INTERNATIONAL | MARCH 2012