easyJet has announced the successful trial of its APU-ZERO Project following a pilot at Milan Malpensa Airport (MXP) in September.
The project saw the company turning off its Auxiliary Power Unit (APU), replacing it with a prototype Pre-Conditioning Air Unit (PCA) utilising Fixed Electric Ground Power (FEGP) from the airport to provide heating, conditioned air and power to stationary aircraft.
Conducted in collaboration with TCR, PCA manufacturer Guinault and Menzies Aviation, the trial evaluated the PCA’s performance alongside existing reporting methods in order to fully gauge success levels across 57 operations from MXP’s Terminal 2.
Following its success, the mobile PCA will be implemented in gradual increments across easyJet’s operations at MXP, with full implementation set to be complete by May.
The rollout is expected to save up to 1,150 tonnes of fuel annually, the equivalent of 3,636 tonnes of Co2.
Lahiru Ranasinghe, Director of Sustainability at easyJet, said:At easyJet we take a holistic approach to reducing our impact in the air and on the ground. This trial, part of our operational efficiencies workstream, resulted in fuel and emissions savings and a reduction in noise, without affecting our operation. This is yet another small but important step that contributes to our broader decarbonisation journey and is an excellent example of an initiative that provides both environmental and business benefits.
Following this successful proof of concept with our partners TCR, Guinault and Menzies we hope to replicate this model and deploy this initiative to many other bases that we operate in across our network.
