Sustainable logistics

Zaventem airport

Stargate is an ambitious project selected by the European Commission to prove that more sustainable aviation is possible. Together with a diverse consortium of 21 partners, Brussels Airport is taking the lead in developing innovative solutions to create the green airports and aviation of the future.

For this European project within the Green deal, Brussels Airport is working with 21 partners from across Europe, including 3 airports: Athens International Airport, Budapest Airport and Toulouse-Blagnac Airport. Like Brussels Airport, these airports are already carbon neutral for their own operations and each has its own emphases on sustainability. Within Stargate, the airports will share their knowledge and experience.

Airport operations will become greener thanks to electrification or the use of hydrogen as fuel for taxiing and ground handling. Freight transport will also become more efficient. Through the Digital Green Lane tool, truck drivers are given a time slot, so they know when they can pick up their delivery.

In terms of decarbonisation , electric taxiing, electric ground-handling equipment and hydrogen-powered ground-handling equipment are being deployed. This willsignificantly reduce both the emissions and noise impact of ground operations.

As a partner within the consortium, DHL has acquired several types of electric machines (11 electric tractors (Mulags), 14 crew vans, 2 noise lifters, 2 belt loaders and 9 high loaders). The operational impact, battery autonomy and noise measurement are being tested in practice. As such, over 30% of DHL's ground handling equipment is already electric, a big step in making their ground operations more sustainable.

A mobile hydrogen filling station was installed to test the potential of hydrogen as a fuel for ground handling operations. DHL tested this with a Mulag tractor for transporting and loading cargo. This tractor was equipped with an integrated hydrogen fuel cell system and was able to refuel instantaneously. This test provided valuable insights into the processes for permit applications, safety requirements and operational experiences for all airport partners.

In cooperation with Skytanking, there will also be a mobile biofuel blending plant at Brussels Airport. This will make it the first airport in the world to blend paraffin with a higher percentage of biofuel on site. In doing so, the share of biofuel can be systematically increased. The airlines within Stargate (Brussels Airlines, TUI and DHL) will be the first to fly with this. In line with this project, work is also underway to collect waste fats and oils that can be used for biofuel.

At Brussels Airport, Skytanking has invested in two custom-made electric fuel dispensers. These vehicles are used to spray aviation fuel from the underground hydrant system into the aircraft. During the test period, more than 2,200 refuelling operations were carried out, which gave insight into oday I had the privilege of presenting 12 use cases on how Flemish companies have successfully introduced zero-emission vehicles in transport and logistics in Flanders in recent years.

Brussels Airport and the Colruyt Group are among 39 projects selected by the European Commission to develop alternative fuel infrastructures. For this, they will receive a grant of €7.2 million (Brussels Airport) respectively to electrify ground support services, while Colruyt will receive more than €6 million for public truck charging stations.

Through use cases, the do's as well as don'ts of ZEV implementation strategies and technologies were elaborated. This way, SMEs get practical insights to help realise their zero-emission transition. The aim of is to help Flemish SMEs learn from these best practices, avoid common pitfalls, etc. This is part of a research project of the Flemish government (Department of Mobility and Public Works) carried out by the University of Antwerp (Faculty of Business and Economics, Department of Transport and Regional Economics TPR), in consortium with The New Drive and Arcadis. VPD Transport is one of the forerunners in this field.