Airplanes in Germany to be supplied with clean electricity during airport stops

Airplanes in Germany will be made more environmentally friendly by supplying them with clean electricity during stops at the airport, the country’s transport minister, Volker Wissing, has said. Airplanes require power supply while undergoing maintenance, being refuelled, and handling cargo at airports., This power is currently usually supplied by auxiliary turbines on the plane or by diesel generators. The “technology-open” support by the transport ministry (BDMV) now aims to replace fossil fuel supply with direct connections to the electricity grid, batteries or hydrogen. “With the new ground power directive, we become one of the first countries to support airports in this transformation away from fossil fuels to climate neutral power supply for grounded aeroplanes,” Wissing said. “We want to make German airports the cleanest in the world. This can only be achieved if we remain open to all technologies and create incentives for climate action investments.” The ministry grants investment subsidies for more environmentally friendly ground power installations as well as for charging and fuelling infrastructure.

The government launched a push in 2022 to make the country an international leader in sustainable aviation. Aviation accounts for one of the fastest growing shares in greenhouse emissions and progress on low-emission flying has been slow. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) in 2021 presented a strategy for future emission-free aviation, while the country’s aviation industry in late 2020 tabled a joint master plan to bring air transport more in line with climate protection and commit companies in the sector to the goal of CO2-neutral air transport.