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Aéro Mag unveils electrically powered de-icing truck
December 21, 2020 By Wings Staff
Aéro Mag unveils the world's first electrically powered aircraft de-icing truck on December 17, 2020, at Montreal-Trudeau International Airport. (Photo: CNW Group, Aéro Mag) Aéro Mag commissioned what it describes as the world’s first electrically powered aircraft de-icing truck. The Montreal company, which specializes in aircraft de-icing operations, states the truck will reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 87 per cent when compared to the use of traditional de-icing trucks. This equates to a reduction of 35 tons of CO2 per truck each year.
“There is no better place to unveil this first electrically powered truck than at the aircraft de-icing facility operated by Aéro Mag at Montréal-Trudeau International Airport,” said Stefan Vestergaard, CEO of The Vestergaard Company, which designed and manufactured the electric de-icing truck in collaboration with Aéro Mag. “The truck will certainly be put to the test by the changing and sometimes extreme weather conditions in the region.”
Aéro Mag holds a strategic objective to become a carbon-neutral company by the year 2035. Established in 1994, Aéro Mag today has more than 1,500 employees in 17 airports around the world. To date, it has de-iced more than 500,000 aircraft.
“The commissioning of this first electrically powered de-icing truck is perfectly in line with our continuous improvement program and follows a whole series of innovations that we have introduced in recent years in the aircraft de-icing industry,” said Mario Lépine, President, Aéro Mag.
Aéro Mag has also developed a process to recover, recycle and reuse de-icing products used in aircraft de-icing operations, ensuring that the glycol recovers at least 99.5 per cent of its purity and is reusable for the same purpose.
“YUL was the first airport in the world to return glycol to a minimum concentration of 99.5 per cent and reuse it as a certified product for aircraft de-icing,” said Stéphane Lapierre, VP, Airport Operations and Air Services Development, Aéroports de Montréal. “Today, the use of 100 per cent electric vehicle reinforces sustainable actions by this aircraft de-icing leader in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.”
