After more than 30 years, Munich Airport modernizes the ventilation systems of two connecting tunnels. A technical upgrade that significantly increases the energy efficiency and operational reliability of the systems has been achieved by using highly efficient RadiPac C EC centrifugal fans from ebm‑papst.

Munich Airport is one of Europe’s busiest airports. Since the airport opened in 1992, two ventilation systems have been used to ventilate the north and south tunnels. Both tunnels connect the car parks with the terminal area and must be continuously ventilated to ensure air quality and to remove smoke in the event of a fire. The two systems consist of an intake and an exhaust air system, each equipped with a large belt-driven fan.

In the fall of 2024, one of the four fans failed, resulting in a complete shutdown of the affected system and consequently an insufficient air supply. The energy management team at Munich Airport had to act quickly, with the most economical and sustainable solution being to carry out a comprehensive retrofit of both systems. Removing the old fans was particularly complex, as each of the four fans had to be dismantled on site and carried out in individual parts due to their size.

Four prefabricated FanGrid units were then installed, two for each system: one for the intake air and one for the exhaust air. In a FanGrid, several fans are arranged next to and on top of each other and operated in parallel. This ensures a more even air flow, resulting in a more efficient through-flow for sound attenuation baffles and heat transfer. In the case of the airport’s systems, the focus was primarily on increased operational reliability due to redundancy, while saving energy at the same time: if one fan in the FanGrid fails, the speed of the others increases automatically so that the air performance always remains constant, thereby guaranteeing good air quality. Operating several fans at partial load also reduces the power requirement of the system. All in all, the retrofit of the two systems included 34 new, highly efficient RadiPac C centrifugal fans. Installation took place within a day and the entire retrofit project was completed between the end of October and the beginning of December 2024.

According to the calculations of the airport's energy management team, retrofitting the two systems with four FanGrid units will save around 252,000 kilowatt hours per year in future. Assuming a gross energy price of 29 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), this corresponds to an annual cost saving of around 50,000 euros. The investment will therefore pay for itself within three and a half years.