OREANDA-NEWS  Gazprom Neft's aviation fuel operator, Gazpromneft-Aero, has introduced an electric tanker into operation. The oil company in its message calls such equipment the first in the country.

The new tanker serves Aeroflot, Smartavia, Pobedy and Air Serbia flights at Sheremetyevo Airport. The car has a modern lithium-ion battery pack, which allows for up to six refueling aircraft "per wing" on a full charge.

"The use of an airfield tractor with an electric motor eliminates CO2 emissions, and also reduces the operating costs of equipment by more than 60%. This solution has shown its effectiveness and may be implemented in other Russian airports in the future," the oilmen note.

The company also recalls that Gazpromneft-Aero has implemented a digital aerologistics system: fewer machines are used to service flights at Russian airports while increasing their load.

Another development of the company, the Smart Fuel blockchain platform, made it possible to transfer the payment for refueling aircraft "in the wing" completely to digital format, excluding paper document flow.

Another project of Gazpromneft-Aero on decarbonization and energy efficiency improvement was an environmental solution for the restoration of truck tires: thanks to this technology, the useful life of automobile wheels on airfield tankers has been doubled.

A typical heavy-duty vehicle was used as a platform for the electric truck: instead of the traditional internal combustion engine for the industry, an energy-efficient electric motor with increased thrust was installed to transport a tanker truck weighing from 20 to 60 tons at a speed of 30 km/h. The full charge cycle of batteries up to 100% is 2-3 hours, and it is also possible to recharge during short breaks at the complexes installed at the airport. The battery heating and air conditioning system allows the equipment to operate at temperatures from -43 to +45 °C.