The Elephant® e-BETA
Sustainable operations
Use of the Vestergaard Elephant® e-BETA can reduce greenhouse gasses, including carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides, by up to 87% per truck each year.
High reach and large operating range
Reduced operation time and fluid consumption
Nozzle maneuverability
Faster operation and able to spray backwards
One-man operation
Manpower efficiency
The Elephant® BETA is now launched as an electrically operated version of the iconic deicer.
With a fully charged battery you will be able to deice 10-15 aircraft (equivalent to 2-3 hours of operation ) without running the truck’s chassis engine. All except fluid heating is run electrically.
Initial tests with the unit indicate that use of the electrically operated Vestergaard Elephant® e-BETA can reduce greenhouse gasses, including carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides, by up to 87% per truck each year.
The Elephant® e-BETA is equipped with an OEM lithium-ion battery, which is charged either via an onboard charger or via a generator on the PTO of the chassis diesel engine. Electric motors run movements, spraying and low-speed maneuvering around the aircraft with diesel engine off.
Operators can now drive to gate areas or remote pads using the truck’s diesel engine, turn off the engine and perform the deicing jobs. Without the diesel engine, small particle pollution is all but eliminated and noise levels are reduced. The unit can drive local distances e.g. between gates using the electric motor and maneuver on the remote pads.
The battery pack is a 40 or 60 kWh lithium-ion battery with a battery management system and an onboard charger.
A full charge will take up to 8-9 hours if using only a single-phase and the onboard charger. When driving the chassis engine, the PTO-generator will charge the battery with up to 20 kW.
Extending operating hours on a busy day can be achieved by utilizing breaks to plug in the deicer and partly recharging the battery.
If preheated fluid is available, there will be no diesel use, however, if you do need to heat the fluid on-board, the e-BETA is equipped with the most efficient heater on the market.