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Aviation Sustainability and the Environment, CAPA 28-May-2020

Analysis

KLM trialling sustainable taxiing procedures with Schiphol and Taxibot

Air France to reduce domestic emissions by 50% by 2024: Minister

Copenhagen Airports, SAS and other Danish companies to develop sustainable fuel facility

Frankfurt Airport CO2 emissions down 10% in 2019

Beijing Daxing Airport deploys over 1000 electric ground vehicles

This CAPA report features a summary of recent aviation sustainability and environment news, selected from the 300+ news alerts published daily by CAPA. For more information, please contact us.

KLM trialling sustainable taxiing procedures with Schiphol and Taxibot

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines began (27-May-2020) trialling sustainable ways to taxi aircraft in partnership with Taxibot and Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. Taxibot will supply a hybrid towing vehicle licenced to tow full aircraft to near the start of the runway without the aircraft having to start its engines, reducing fuel consumption during taxiing by an estimated 50% to 85%.

Schiphol Airport has made the Taxibot available to KLM, Transavia and Corendon to enable them to carry out joint research into more sustainable ways to taxi as well as examine taxiing duration, effects on aircraft maintenance and large scale implementation.

KLM project manager Jeroen Jaartsveld stated: "It's important to find out how far we can cut CO2 emissions by using the Taxibot...We'd also like to know how long it takes to taxi with the Taxibot, what effect this has on aircraft engine maintenance, and how we might introduce sustainable taxiing with Taxibots on a large scale into Schiphol's daily operations". [more - original PR]

Original report: KLM trials sustainable taxiing

KLM today started taking part in a trial at Schiphol to test sustainable ways to taxi aircraft. The trial is being carried out with a Taxibot. This is a hybrid towing vehicle which, unlike the normal pushback trucks, is licenced to tow full aircraft to near the start of the runway, without the aircraft having to start its engines. This is expected to reduce fuel consumption during taxiing by 50% to 85%. Schiphol Airport has made the Taxibot available to KLM, Transavia and Corendon to enable them to carry out joint research into more sustainable ways to taxi.

During today's test, an empty KLM Boeing 737 was towed to the runway by the Taxibot. "It's important to find out how far we can cut CO2 emissions by using the Taxibot," explained KLM's project manager, Jeroen Jaartsveld. "We'd also like to know how long it takes to taxi with the Taxibot, what effect this has on aircraft engine maintenance, and how we might introduce sustainable taxiing with Taxibots on a large scale into Schiphol's daily operations."

Fly Responsibly

KLM's sustainability initiative, Fly Responsibly, launched last year, included a commitment to reducing carbon emissions caused by taxiing. This will contribute to KLM's ambition to cut its fleet's total carbon emissions by 15% compared to 2005.

Air France to reduce domestic emissions by 50% by 2024: Minister

France's Minister for Ecological Transition Elisabeth Borne said Air France has committed to reducing CO2 emissions by 50% on its domestic network by 2024 in exchange for state aid guarantees (France Inter, 24-May-2020). She added the carrier will implement a "drastic reduction" in frequencies on city pairs where there is a 2.5 hour high speed rail alternative.

Copenhagen Airports, SAS and other Danish companies to develop sustainable fuel facility

Copenhagen Airports, SAS, DSV Panalpina, Maersk, DFDS and Ørsted announced (26-May-2020) a partnership to develop an industrial scale facility in the Copenhagen area to produce sustainable fuels for air, maritime and road transport. Details include:

  • The parties aim to develop a hydrogen and e-fuel production facility as soon as 2023, which could deliver more than 250,000 tonnes of sustainable fuel p/a once fully scaled up by 2030;
  • Production would potentially be based on total electrolyser capacity of 1.3 gigawatts and could reduce carbon emissions by 850,000 tonnes p/a;
  • The proposed facility may become one of the world's largest electrolyser and sustainable fuel production facilities;
  • The project will require a large scale supply of renewable electricity, which could potentially come from offshore wind power produced at Rønne Banke near Bornholm;
  • Renewable jet fuel (e-kerosene) may be produced in stage two of the project, which could be operational by 2027. The project has the potential to displace 5% of fossil fuels at Copenhagen Kastrup Airport by 2027 and 30% by 2030;
  • The partnership will now engage with regulatory authorities on the necessary framework and policies and to seek public co-funding to conduct a full feasibility study. A final investment decision for the first stage of the project could be made in 2021.

The companies stated: "The project can spearhead the maturation of sustainable fuels while creating jobs and new value chains to reinforce Denmark's role as a green energy leader". The City of Copenhagen aims to become the world's first carbon neutral capital city by 2025. [more - original PR - DSV]

Original report: Leading Danish companies join forces on an ambitious sustainable fuel project

Copenhagen Airports, A.P. Moller - Maersk, DSV Panalpina, DFDS, SAS and Ørsted have formed the first partnership of its kind to develop an industrial-scale production facility to produce sustainable fuels for road, maritime and air transport in the Copenhagen area.

This new partnership brings together the demand and supply side of sustainable fuels with a vision to realise what could become one of the world's largest electrolyser and sustainable fuel production facilities. The project can spearhead the maturation of sustainable fuels while creating jobs and new value chains to reinforce Denmark's role as a green energy leader.

Jens Bjørn Andersen, CEO, DSV Panalpina, says:

"This ambitious partnership fits well with our long-term targets to reduce emissions and find sustainable solutions for our industry. We are proud to play a part. The transport sector is very important for Denmark but leaves a significant CO2 footprint and we are committed to finding ways to pave the road for a greener future. While this initiative is local, our long-term ambitions remain global."

Copenhagen Airports, A.P. Moller - Maersk, DSV Panalpina, DFDS, SAS and Ørsted have brought together the demand and supply side of sustainable fuels in a unique partnership with the concrete vision to develop a new ground-breaking hydrogen and e-fuel production facility as soon as 2023. When fully scaled-up by 2030, the project could deliver more than 250,000 tonnes of sustainable fuel for busses, trucks, maritime vessels, and airplanes every year. Production would potentially be based on a total electrolyser capacity of 1.3 gigawatts, which would likely make it one of the world's largest facilities of its kind. The production from the fully scaled facility can reduce annual carbon emissions by 850,000 tonnes.

COWI and BCG act as knowledge partners for the project, and the project is supported by the Municipality of Copenhagen in line with Copenhagen's ambitious policies for decarbonisation. However, the partnership hopes that the project can, over time, act as a catalyst for similar projects in other parts of Denmark and internationally.

Frank Jensen, Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, says:

"In Copenhagen, we've set the ambitious goal to become the world's first carbon neutral capital by 2025. We're already well underway - with district heating, wind turbines, great biking infrastructure, zero emission busses, a green metro, etc. But we need new, sustainable technologies to go all the way. Sustainable fuels are an important means in the fight against climate change and air pollution. It brings us one step closer a greener future."

If realised as envisaged, the project will be located in the Greater Copenhagen Area and could supply renewable hydrogen for zero-emission busses tendered by Movia and heavy-duty trucks managed by DSV Panalpina, renewable methanol for A.P. Moller - Maersk vessels and renewable jet fuel (e-kerosene) for SAS airplanes and air transport out of Copenhagen Airports. The project will require a large-scale supply of renewable electricity, which could potentially come from offshore wind power produced at Rønne Banke off the island of Bornholm.

Bringing down the cost of sustainable fuels

Today, such sustainable fuels come at a higher cost than fossil-based fuels. To become competitive with fossil fuels, the production of sustainable fuels will need to be matured, built at industrial scale, and go through a cost-out journey similar to what has been seen over the past decade in other renewable energy technologies, such as offshore wind, onshore wind and solar PV. As an example, the cost of offshore wind has declined by approx 70% in Northwest Europe since 2012. For this to happen, governments and industry must come together to create a framework that incentivises private investments in large-scale sustainable fuel production.

Henrik Poulsen, CEO, Ørsted, says:

"Decarbonising the road, maritime, and aviation sectors is key to bringing our economies around the world to net-zero emissions by 2050. Our vision to produce sustainable fuels in the Greater Copenhagen area will deliver the necessary industrial scaling to drive the needed cost-out towards making renewable fuels competitive with fossil fuels. With the right policy framework in place, this project could be a defining leap forward for the production of sustainable fuels in Denmark, which will further reinforce Denmark's role as a global leader in technologies and business models for a sustainable future."

Although several partners are challenged by the deep impact of COVID-19, the partnership's long-term commitments to fighting climate change remain intact. The industrial partners see this project as a way to combine the dual objectives of accelerating the green transformation and providing economic stimulus to the Danish economy post the COVID-19 crisis. Denmark is in a unique position to become a hub for the production of sustainable fuels, creating jobs and securing a leading position in establishing an entirely new industry, which will be key in driving decarbonisation towards net zero in 2050, not just in Denmark, but also globally.

Powered by renewables

The electrolyser facility will not only be a potential cornerstone in decarbonising the partners' businesses but will also deliver a critical contribution to reaching Denmark's ambitious goal of reducing carbon emissions by 70% by 2030 compared to 1990 by replacing fossil fuels in heavy transport with sustainable fuels. The vision of the partnership is to develop the project in three stages:

The first stage, which could be operational by 2023, comprises a 10MW electrolyser which can produce renewable hydrogen used directly to fuel busses and trucks.

Stage two comprises a 250MW electrolyser facility which could be operational by 2027 when the first offshore wind power from Bornholm could be delivered. This facility would combine the production of renewable hydrogen with sustainable carbon capture from point-sources in the Greater Copenhagen area to produce renewable methanol for maritime transport and renewable jet-fuel (e-kerosene) for the aviation sector.

Stage three, which could be operational by 2030 when the offshore wind potential at Bornholm has been fully developed, would upgrade the project's electrolyser capacity to 1.3GW and capture more sustainable CO2, enough to supply more than 250,000 tonnes of sustainable fuels to be used in busses, trucks, maritime vessels and airplanes. The project has the potential to displace 5% of fossil fuels at Copenhagen Airport by 2027 and 30% by 2030.

Lars-Peter Søbye, CEO, COWI, says:

"This project gives Denmark a unique opportunity to spearhead the green transition in the transportation sector: We get to utilise Danish strongholds in, e.g., wind energy, and join forces in the electricity, district heating and transportation sectors. Cooperating across sectors and fostering partnerships among cities, companies and universities is exactly how we create real value and new sustainable solutions. At COWI, we are excited to take part in the project, contributing our knowledge about high-complexity, large-scale projects and green technologies."

The partnership will now move forward and engage in dialogue with the regulatory authorities on the framework and policies needed to support the development of using sustainable fuels at scale in the transport sector in Denmark, and to seek public co-funding to conduct a full feasibility study of the project. If the feasibility study confirms the viability of the project vision, a final investment decision for the first stage of the project could likely be taken as soon as 2021.

Frankfurt Airport CO2 emissions down 10% in 2019

Fraport reported (26-May-2020) CO2 emissions emitted by Frankfurt Airport decreased 9.7% year-on-year to 170,310 tonnes in 2019. [more - original PR]

Excerpt from original report: Fraport AGM 2020: Executive and Supervisory Boards Report to Shareholders Virtually for the First Time

Shareholders submitted 51 questions - Suspension of dividend recommended - Karlheinz Weimar retires as Supervisory Board chairman - Hesse's finance minister Michael Boddenberg standing for election to the Supervisory Board - AGM to decide on new remuneration system for the Executive Board.

Fraport AG's regular Annual General Meeting (AGM) for shareholders began today at 10:00 a.m. - for the first time via a virtual-only format due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company's supervisory board chairman, Karlheinz Weimar, and executive board chairman (CEO), Dr. Stefan Schulte, report personally via the live-stream broadcast. A total of 51 questions submitted by shareholders will be answered during the course of the AGM. Shareholders and their authorized representatives can exercise their voting rights via the AGM online portal at: www.fraport.com/annualgeneralmeeting.com.

In his speech to the AGM, CEO Schulte focused in particular on the current situation: "We are in the midst of the severest crisis impacting modern aviation. During the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, travel restrictions worldwide have increased significantly since the beginning of March. For the entire month of April, Frankfurt Airport served only about 188,000 passengers - that's far less that the passenger traffic we received on an average single day in 2019." Traffic at the company's international airport locations also has largely come to a standstill.

CEO Schulte: "We responded to this drop in traffic at an early stage and took comprehensive measures to reduce costs. Nevertheless, we now have negative free cash flow of around 155 million euros per month. Despite these massive cash outflows, Fraport has sufficient liquidity to survive the current situation for many months to come."

Profit for Fiscal Year 2019 to Flow into Revenue Reserves

Against the background of this development, Fraport's Executive Board and Supervisory Board will recommend to the AGM - despite the successful 2019 business year - not to pay the dividend for the past completed year. Instead, the profit earmarked for distribution should flow into the revenue reserve and strengthen the equity base. In view of an expected negative Group Result for the current financial year, the Executive Board will also propose to the Supervisory Board and the Annual General Meeting not to distribute a dividend for the 2020 business year.

Hesse finance minister Michael Boddenberg standing for election to the Fraport Supervisory Board

After serving more than 16 years as the chairman of Fraport's Supervisory Board, Karlheinz Weimar will be retiring at the close of today's AGM. Hesse's finance minister Michael Boddenberg is up for election to the Supervisory Board. If Mr. Boddenberg is appointed, he will also be proposed as a candidate for the chairman position on Fraport AG's Supervisory Board.

Remuneration system for Fraport's Executive Board to be aligned with new German statutory requirements

Along with regular resolutions - such as the appropriation of net retained profits and approving the actions of the Executive and Supervisory Boards - the AGM agenda will feature a resolution on a new remuneration system for the members of the Executive Board. Thus, Fraport is ensuring early implementation of the statutory requirements set out in the new version of the German Corporate Governance Code and the act for implementing the Second Shareholders' Rights Directive (ARUG II). Under the new remuneration system, the remuneration value remains unchanged. Based on fewer remuneration components, the new system provides a simplified and even more transparent structure.

Outlook Remains Uncertain

Because of the ongoing high uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fraport cannot make a specific forecast at this time. Fraport still anticipates strongly negative traffic development at Frankfurt. In line with this development, the executive board expects all financial performance indicators to decrease significantly for the 2020 financial year. Overall, Fraport expects Group-EBITDA and Group-EBIT to decline sharply, and the Group Result to be negative.

CEO Schulte: "Also the medium and long-term outlook is still very uncertain. Currently, we expect passenger traffic - even in 2022/2023 - to be below the previous high-levels. A decline of about 15 to 20 percent compared to the 2019 figure of around 70.6 million passengers in Frankfurt seems realistic. This is what we are preparing your company and Frankfurt Airport for."

Beijing Daxing Airport deploys over 1000 electric ground vehicles

Beijing Daxing International Airport reported (25-May-2020) it deploys 1010 electric ground vehicles, including baggage transport, passenger transport, aircraft towing and waste removal vehicles. Electric vehicles account for 72% of all ground vehicles deployed at Beijing Daxing. [more - original PR - Chinese]

Original report: 大兴机场新能源车占比达72% 国内领先

本网讯(大兴机场:孔德旭、王军生报道)今年以来,大兴机场积极推进"绿色机场"建设,新能源车占比达到72%,这是大兴机场打赢蓝天保卫战的重要举措。

截至4月底,大兴机场包含特种车辆和通用车辆共有1398辆,其中新能源车辆1010辆,场内车辆综合电动化率72%,在国内各机场中位居前列。其中如航空垃圾接收车、传送带车、客梯车、C类飞机牵引车等新能源车在大兴机场启用后就第一时间投入使用,总体新能源车辆种类数量处于行业领先地位。

使用中的新能源特种车辆

为满足持续增长的新能源汽车用电需求,大兴机场近期将在陆侧、空侧共新建245个充电点位,预计能多为200余辆新能源车同时提供充电服务。此外,大兴机场还在推进远机位充电桩项目,再提供150余个充电点位,以满足未来飞行控制区内电动车辆充电需求。按照规划设计,大兴机场通过应用推广新能源车每年可减少1.2万吨二氧化碳排放量,约等于77平方公里森林每年吸收的二氧化碳量。

此外,大兴机场还在飞机APU替代设施应用、可再生能源利用、环保设施应用、环境污染治理等方面全力推进节能减排,积极降低能耗,减少污染。大兴机场未来将继续履行国企社会责任,加大节能减排力度,探索能源利用新模式,全方位立体式打造"绿色机场"新标杆,持续为蓝天保卫战助力。

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