ITW GSE 7400 eGPU doubles as remote-stand charger for electric GSE

IAG Group handling company SOUTH has bought 90 ITW GSE 7400 eGPUs for deployment across Spanish airports including Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Seville, making it one of the first operators to adopt the unit's new dual-role capability. The 90 kVA battery-powered unit now serves both aircraft ground power and electric ground support equipment charging at remote stands.

The 7400 eGPU (external ground power unit) supplies 400 Hz power to parked aircraft — the standard frequency for onboard electrical systems during turnarounds. ITW GSE has added optional auxiliary outlets that draw on the same onboard battery capacity for tasks beyond aircraft power.

A 32A outlet charges electric GSE, including cargo loaders. A separate 16A outlet powers aircraft servicing activities such as cabin cleaning and maintenance. Power consumption through both outlets can be metered, enabling tracking and billing between handler and airline.

What does this change for ground handlers?

The core problem is infrastructure. Handlers electrifying their GSE fleets need charging points, but remote stands rarely have fixed electrical supply, and installing it across an apron (the aircraft parking and servicing area) carries significant cost.

The alternative — routing electric equipment back to centralized charging stations — adds vehicle movements across the apron and pulls equipment out of service exactly when turnarounds need it most.

By letting electric GSE recharge at the stand itself, the 7400 reduces those trips. ITW GSE positions this as a way to cut equipment movements and charging infrastructure costs simultaneously, while improving equipment availability during aircraft turnarounds.

Jose Manuel De Las Heras, senior sales and business development manager at ITW GSE, discussed the technology in the October 2026 issue of Ground Handling International. He emphasized the potential to reduce both equipment movements and the cost of building out charging infrastructure.

Part of a wider system

The auxiliary outlets do not stand alone. ITW GSE frames the capability as a complement to its broader EcoGate system, which coordinates three ground functions: aircraft ground power, preconditioned air (PCA, the ducted air supply that keeps cabins at temperature without running engines or the APU) and electric equipment charging.

The point of that coordination is electrical capacity management. A stand's power supply is finite, and EcoGate allocates it across the three demands to use available capacity more efficiently rather than oversizing infrastructure for peak loads.

For SOUTH, the attraction was the mobile power bank concept. The company, which handles Iberia flights within the IAG Group, was among the first customers to express interest in using the eGPU's battery for purposes beyond 400 Hz aircraft power, according to ITW GSE.

A market moving toward electrification

The order signals where ground handling is heading. Handlers across Europe face pressure to electrify diesel GSE fleets under airport emissions and noise rules, and the 90-unit Spanish deployment across four cities gives the dual-role 7400 its largest-scale reference to date.

The economics rest on a trade-off handlers will now test in service: whether battery capacity reserved for GSE charging and servicing power compromises the unit's primary job of supplying aircraft, and whether reduced apron traffic and avoided infrastructure spending outweigh that cost. ITW GSE has not published figures on either question, so the SOUTH deployment will serve as the working evidence.

With metered consumption built in, handlers can at least bill accurately for the power they dispense — a small but concrete step as the apron becomes an increasingly electrical environment.