Stuttgart Airport deploys six more electric passenger buses

OCT 16, 2015: After successful testing of the first electric airport bus worldwide in regular use in the 3-metre category, Prof. Georg Fundel, CEO of Flughafen Stuttgart GmbH (FSG) together with Baden-Württemberg’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Winfried Hermann, inaugurated the first of six more electric airport shuttle buses of the eCobus 3000 brand, manufactured by Cobus Industries GmbH, a leading manufacturer of airport buses worldwide. Almost half of the airport shuttle buses used at Stuttgart Airport will therefore be driven without any exhaust gases from November onwards.

“These airport shuttle buses are an exemplary step forward for the positive environmental impact of airports. The government of Baden-Württemberg massively supports electric mobility. The state is intended to become a pioneer region for sustainable mobility. I am therefore all the happier that with this decision the airport is keeping the role of a pioneer ‘fairport’ in the area of sustainability in Germany and Europe,” Hermann notes. Compared to diesel motors, every new vehicle saves over 22 tonnes of CO2 per year. The energy consumption per passenger is reduced by around 80 percent.

“Electric drive is outstandingly well-suited to airport ground operations, as the distances travelled are manageable. After having carried out intensive testing, we are now taking the next step. Whenever cost-effectiveness, environmental impact and operational safety meet, we will be relying on electric mobility in the future,” said airport CEO Prof. Fundel at the introduction of the vehicle.

At Stuttgart Airport hybrid baggage transporters with electric and diesel drives have been used since as early as 1991. Later the vehicle fleet was completed step by step with electro-vans, baggage towing tractors and a pushback vehicle, as well as other electric vehicles. The operational safety of technology is a key factor in the use of electric drives for airport operation. Through investments of approx. 3.5 million euros in the local charging infrastructure and optimisation of parts and application processes, the airport has succeeded for the first time in cooperation with the manufacturers to create the conditions for widespread use of the technology. The economic viability of the project is also secured by funding: FSG receives 40% of the additional costs compared with diesel drives through the state initiative Electric Mobility II of the Baden-Württemberg federal state. The European Union and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy support the construction of new columns and electric infrastructure with more than a half a million euros. Stuttgart Airport has set itself the long term goal, to become one of the highest-performance and most sustainable airports in Europe.