october2021 - 15

COVER STORY
T
he FAA recently awarded
more than $20 million
in grants to reduce
emissions and improve
air quality at airports
across the country.
The awards are intended to fund
zero-emission airport vehicles as well as
electric charging infrastructure and aim to
electrify ground support equipment (GSE).
This funding is among the latest initiatives
prompting the adoption of electric ground
support equipment (eGSE). Environmental
goals established by governments, industry
organizations, airports, airlines and individual
ground service providers are also lending
themselves to eGSE.
With a focus on reducing ground emissions
on the ramp, many manufacturers across the
market are finding solutions to benefit the
GSE industry.
into airport equipment.
" Our original introduction to the ground
support market used a transmission that GM
released to the automotive world, " PCS president
Dan Boucher recalls. " We customized it
and integrated it with the performance and
safety features that the ground support world
needed.
" With what we've done to that, it's been
a success in the industry. We're doing the
same exact thing, just now with an electric
driveline. "
PCS debuted its eGSE solution at the International
GSE Expo, which is comprised of an
electric motor and battery pack produced by
GM.
The customized version of GM's powertrain
has been built into several GSE
units, including a belt-loader, an M1A
bag tractor and an MA bag tractor.
" For more than 60 years, GM's OEM
sales business, now GM Powered Solutions,
has provided engines, transmissions
and other propulsion equipment
to companies in marine, industrial, off/
on highway and utility markets, " says
Tony Brower, GM's senior manager of
GM Drivetrains for GSE
Powertrain Control Solutions (PCS) found its
way to the ground support equipment industry
by integrating automotive technology from
General Motors (GM) into existing GSE.
PCS has recently waded into the eGSE
PCS Integrates
market with a similar project, converting GSE
by adapting the GM electric vehicle drivetrain
OEM sales and engineering. " This strategic
collaboration represents an exciting opportunity
for GM to extend its commitment to
an all-electric future into other industries,
enabling companies that utilize ground support
equipment to reach their own emissions
targets. "
While this project got a head start by utilizing
existing electric vehicle technology, PCS
had to find a way to get the battery system to
fit into GSE units. Engineers reconfigured the
layout of GM's lithium-ion powered cell module
assemblies (CMAs) to fit within the footprint
provided by a bag tractor or belt-loader.
" The new battery created for the ground
support industry uses two production CMAs
stacked on top of each other " Boucher says.
" It has all the safety features, all of the performance,
all of the advanced manufacturing
that goes into it. "
PCS engineers customized the motor that's
used in GM's on-highway vehicles with a
component used on all PCS transmissions
designed for the GSE industry. According to
Boucher, this creates a drop-in solution for
customers converting from an internal combustion
engine and transmission and allows
customers to use the same driveshaft, shifter
and parking brake.
" We really tried to make a driveline that
would look as common as what they're using
now. But you have all the benefits of the electric
drivetrain over the internal combustion
engine, " Boucher says. " To the operator, it
doesn't look any different. They know how
to operate it. They're comfortable with it. "
Partnering with GM on this project,
allowed for extensive testing of the bag tractors
at the automotive manufacturer's testing
facility in Milford, Mich.
" It was a very significant integration project.
The testing and the validation was incredibly
significant, " Boucher says.
GM's electric vehicle technology provides
charging flexibility.
" These can take as little as 110 or 120V AC
charging. It's slow, but it's available everywhere, "
Boucher says.
" Stepping that up, you can use 240 or 208V
and get about 10 percent per hour, " he adds.
" Then you still have the option of a Level 3,
which is a dedicated high-speed charger on
operations that need it. "
The vehicles use the same SAE charging
receptacles that electric vehicles use, so no
custom charging equipment is required.
" The batteries are also designed to be more
than a battery, " Boucher says.
" On many electric GSE vehicles, you have
a battery and some high-voltage wiring that
goes to the main contactors somewhere on
the vehicle, " he explains. " On the on-highway
batteries, the main contactors are built
inside the pack itself. So, you don't have any
OCTOBER 2021 AviationPros.com 15
Photo courtesy of Powertrain Control Solutions (PCS)
http://www.AviationPros.com
october2021

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