Flughafen Zürich AG puts first electric truck into operation
Flughafen Zürich AG put its first electrically powered waste collection vehicle into operation on friday. This move takes the company one step closer to a zero-emission vehicle fleet. The switch from diesel to sustainably powered vehicles has been steadily advanced since 2022 and is expected to be completed by 2040.
An electric waste collection vehicle will be in operation at Zurich Airport from December 2024. Two more will be put into operation at the airport in January 2025. These lorries, which were designed for waste collection, replace the three waste collection vehicles that operate on fossil fuel. The new electric lorries will therefore complement the 80 or so zero-emission passenger and delivery vans already in operation at Flughafen Zürich AG.
Decarbonisation by 2040
From passenger cars to special vehicles for snow clearing and gritting as well as infrastructure maintenance: The operator of Switzerland's largest airport is converting its entire fleet and machinery to drive systems that have a lower climate impact. Parallel to this gradual transformation, the airport is making ongoing investments in the expansion of its charging infrastructure as a foundation for the use of electric vehicles.
Our decarbonisation strategy ensures that the environmental impact of flight operations is further reduced and that we remain efficient. Investments in alternative drive systems and charging infrastructure are part of our goal of reducing the company's own carbon emissions to net zero by 2040.
According to current plans, there will be more than 330 electric vehicles in operation at the airport by 2040. The necessary electricity for this will come exclusively from renewable energy sources. It is likely that no electric drive system will be possible for 35 special vehicles; these will be powered entirely by renewable fuel starting in 2040 at the latest. In mid-December 2024, Flughafen Zürich AG signed a purchase agreement with Synhelion – a producer of solar fuels – for 30,000 liters of solar diesel annually starting in 2027. ( Media release from December 17.)
Functionally on a par
The waste collection vehicles at Zurich Airport are in service seven days a week and are among the most frequently used vehicles at the airport. After more than a decade of daily use, the existing lorries have now been replaced by zero-emission electric vehicles. The new electric lorries are the first electrically powered trucks at Flughafen Zürich AG. Equipped with hydraulic presses, they have a collection volume similar to that of their fossil-fuelled predecessors and also a similar range.
More on the subject:
Climate protection – Flughafen Zuerich
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(Source: Flughafen Zürich AG)
