Fuel cell forklift

A fuel cell forklift (also called a fuel cell lift truck or a fuel cell forklift) is a fuel cell powered industrial forklift truck used to lift and transport materials.

History

• 1960 - Allis-Chalmers builds the first fuel cell forklift^[1]

Market

In 2013 there were over 4,000 fuel cell forklifts used in material handling in the USA. Fuel cell fleets are currently being operated by a number of companies, including Sysco Foods, FedEx Freight, GENCO (at Wegmans, Coca-Cola, Kimberly Clark, and Whole Foods).^[2] Europe demonstrated 30 Fuel cell forklifts with Hylift and extended it with HyLIFT-EUROPE to 200 units.^[3] With other projects in France ^[4][5] and Austria^[6]

Uses

PEM fuel-cell-powered forklifts provide benefits over petroleum powered forklifts as they produce no local emissions. While LP Gas (propane) forklifts are more popular and often used indoors, they cannot accommodate certain food industry applications. Fuel cell power efficiency (40-50%) is about half that of lithium-ion batteries (80-90%), but they have a higher energy density which may allow forklifts to run longer. Fuel-cell-powered forklifts are often used in refrigerated warehouses as their performance is not as affected by temperature as some types of lithium batteries. Most fuel cells used for material handling purposes are powered by PEM fuel cells, although some DMFC forklifts are coming onto the market. In design the FC units are often made as drop-in replacements.^[7]

Research

2013 -Toyota Industries (Toyota Shokki) has revealed a new fuel cell powered forklift truck, co-developed with Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd.,^[8] 2015 - HySA Systems (UWC) revealed fuel cell powered forklift and refueling station based on metal hydrides. Customer was mining company Implats from South Africa. This was first project of this type in African continent.

Standards

• SAE J 2601/3 - SAE J 2601/3 - Fueling Protocols for Gaseous Hydrogen Powered Industrial Trucks (forklifts)^[9]

References