ANA ENGINEERING NARITA CO., LTD.
Airport Quality Department, Narita Airport Office

Sinfonia Technology Co., Ltd. Model PT-3038 passenger stair cars have step lights in 27 places that formerly used 13.5A of electricity. The electricity these passengers stair cars consumed needed frequent charging that required the engine to run at 900 to 1,000 rotations per minute (RPMs) when lit because battery life was short. Charging frequency increased if the engine did not run at higher RPMs, which shortened battery life to two years. Moreover, the bulbs had to be changed once a year.

Having considered a solution for this matter, the ANA Group switched from incandescent to LEDs light bulbs for its passenger stair cars. This cut amperage to 2.2A, about one-sixth of the former 13.5A, which the engine can supply at idling RPM. This has reduced fuel use and CO2 emissions. Moreover, LEDs do not need frequent replacement, it is unnecessary to change the bulbs during the service life of the passenger steps.

The switch to LEDs cut fuel consumption by approximately 10% from about 2.0 liters per hour to about 1.8 liters.

date-Noshiro Airport Office

An airplane generates electricity by its engines when flying in the sky or taxing on ground to supply for lights in the cabin and instruments in the cockpit. And electricity is necessary when the engines are stopped at a parking spot, too, so an airplane is installed with a small engine called Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) in the aft. But this small additional engine “APU” also needs fuel to run up and emits CO2.

In order to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, electricity generators called GPU (Ground Power Unit) are installed underground of aircraft parking spots and electricity are supplied to aircrafts trough cables at large airports and GPU vehicles (generators equipped onboard trucks) are used at small airports.

However, at Odate-Noshiro Airport (a small airport in East Northern part of Japan), neither of them were provided and onboard APU has to be used to supply power to airplanes while they were parking on the ground, consuming fuel and emitting CO2.

So, staff of Odate-Noshiro airport thought and thought to solve this problem.

And finally, they came to think using a towing tractor which pushes back an aircraft from a parking spot to a taxi way. Every towing tractor is equipped with a generator which supplies electricity to an airplane to function instruments in a cockpit or for turning on anti collision signals when it is towed to another spot for maintenance during a night.

To utilize this onboard generator of a towing tractor in a daily bases, they found out a good way that they prepared a cable always ready stretching out to connect to an airplane quickly and easily on a special cart made by themselves. With this invention, they reduced fuel and CO2 not using APU onboard aircrafts with on time performance and no additional work on ground handling staff.

To run up a generator of towing tractor diesel fuel is necessary, but except small amount of diesel fuel and CO2 for the generator, yearly 18,000 liter jet fuel consumption and 35,000 kg-CO2 emissions from APU onboard airplanes are reduced.

ANA Airport Handling Co. Ltd., Haneda Airport

ANA’s one of the subsidiary companies ANA Airport Handling Co. Ltd. has 22 small and medium size buses and carry passengers who connect to their next flights, flight crew between aircrafts and ground facilities and ANA group employees moving around Haneda Airport Area very comfortably and safely day by day.
Total driving distance sums up to more than approximately 60,000 km. Before they started the “Idling Stop” campaign, while waiting for passengers or employees, the drivers kept idling engines, turning on air conditioning in order to offer passengers comfortable atmosphere when the passengers would come and board.

But on the other hand, fuel burning and CO2 emission out of this procedure resulted up to tremendous amount.

So, the drivers proposed changing this procedure and cooperated with each other aiming to protect Environment, paying much attention not to lower down services for passengers, and started trial of “Idling Stop” campaign.

As the result, fuel consumption was reduced 1,990 liter per month of about 12 % than before and CO2 emission was restrained 5,212 kg per month (of June 2012 on the trial month).

Now they are planning to start and promote the new procedure from October for all year around to reduce more CO2, yet considering comfortableness of passengers.