Lufthansa Puts Electric eTugs to Work at International Airport

Lufthansa puts eTugs to work at one of the busiest airports in the world. These eTugs tow enormous aircraft across the tarmac at Frankfurt Airport. It’s truly impressive, not least because they are electric, so zero emissions. Lithion Battery are truly impressed with Kalmar Motors AB and the E-PORT AN initiative, which is working to electrify operations at Germany’s main international airport. Our Valence U-Charge U27-24XP batteries are clearly up to the job.

From Electrive.com 6/4/18

“Frankfurt Airport (FRA) operates an extensive electrification strategy. As it is Lufthansa’s home base, the airline complements the airport’s efforts and has turned to Sweden’s Kalmar to order their 700 kW eTug that can tow very large jets emissionfree.

“Kalmar’s two-of-a-kind electric vehicle is made to tow the big guns, that is aircrafts such as the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 747. Lufthansa’s LEOS, the airlines’ ground handling service, has been using the world’s first eTug at Frankfurt Airport since 2016 and has now put a second one into operation.

“The second model has been improved, taking into account feedback from Lufthansa operators. Kalmar’s 700 kW electric vehicle parks large aircraft with a take-off weight of up to 60 tons purely electrically and tows them to the hangar, to the gate or on the runway. In order to do so, the eTug nimbly – considering its weight and size of 9.70 x 4.50 metres – maneuvers with an all-wheel drive and all-wheel steering. The eSchlepper’s lithium-ion batteries have a capacity of 180 kilowatt hours and can be recharged even during operation with a small range extender, a diesel generator.”

Read the entire article here: https://www.electrive.com/2018/06/04/lufthansa-puts-swedish-etug-to-work-at-fra-gallery/