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Fuel Cell-Powered Forklifts: Raising the Bar
By Jennifer Gangi, Program Director, Fuel Cells 2000
Distribution centers never sleep, running 24-hour shifts, seven days a week. Unfortunately, today’s battery-powered systems interrupt the flow, sometimes needing up to three time-consuming changes during the course of those 24 hours. Fuel cells are emerging as a cost-effective alternative to battery technology - lasting longer, fueling faster and weighing less while eliminating harmful emissions.
There are an estimated 3 million electric forklifts in service today, with an annual global market of around $3.7 billion. Fuel cells have the potential to effectively lower total logistics cost since they require minimal refilling and need less maintenance than electric forklifts as there are fewer moving parts. They also ensure constant power delivery and performance, eliminating the reduction in voltage output that occurs as batteries discharge and the numerous interruptions in current input and output electric forklifts experience due to the frequent starting and stopping during use.
What is a Fuel Cell?
Fuel cells were invented more than 100 years ago, but have really just gained public attention in the past decade or so. Most people have heard or read about fuel cell cars, but the potential applications for fuel cells are endless. Miniature fuel cells are being developed for cellular phones, laptop computers, and other consumer electronics; and larger units are already providing primary or backup power to thousands of locations around the world, including hotels, banks, hospitals, telecommunications towers, wastewater treatment plants, and breweries. The military is extremely interested in fuel cells for portable power for soldiers and on-site on bases. Other transportation applications include fuel cell-powered scooters, airplanes, locomotives, boats, and the materials handling market, specifically, forklifts.
So what is this magical technology and how does it work? A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, with water and heat as its by-product. Since the conversion of the fuel to energy replaces combustion with an electrochemical process, the process is clean, quiet and highly efficient – two to three times more efficient than fuel burning. Think of it as a battery that never runs down or requires recharging – as long as fuel is supplied, the fuel cell will continue to generate power.
A fuel cell consists of two electrodes sandwiched around an electrolyte. Hydrogen is fed into the “anode” of the fuel cell and oxygen (from the air) enters the fuel cell through the cathode.
Encouraged by a catalyst, the hydrogen atom splits into a proton and an electron, which take different paths to the cathode. The proton passes through the electrolyte while the electrons create a separate current that can be utilized before travelling to the cathode. There the hydrogen and oxygen reunite to form water molecules.
The voltage from a single cell is about 0.7 volts, just about enough for a light bulb. Fuel cells are scalable, so stacking cells together multiplies the operating voltage until the desired power output is reached. Larger stacks can be linked together as well – there are some stationary installations already installed in the megawatt (MW) power range.
Fuel cells for most applications run on hydrogen, the most plentiful element in the universe. When pure hydrogen is used as the fuel source, the fuel cell is a zero emission technology. And hydrogen can be generated from a variety of sources. Using a reformer, hydrogen can be stripped from a number of hydrocarbon fuels including natural gas, methanol, propane, biomass, and gasoline. The emissions from reforming these various hydrocarbon fuels would still be cleaner than those from a combustion process. It is also possible to obtain hydrogen renewably by separating water in an electrolyzer using solar or wind power, or by extracting it from a compound that contains no carbon, such as ammonia or boron compounds.
Besides being a potential zero-emission device, fuel cells offer numerous other benefits such as high efficiency and reliability, low noise and heat signature, scalability, producing high quality power and fuel flexibility.
Why Forklifts?
Niche transport applications such as utility vehicles and forklifts have been garnering a lot of attention recently. The power requirement is smaller, so the fuel cell can be manufactured more cheaply, plus they refuel at a central fueling station, eliminating the need for a set hydrogen infrastructure right away. Investing in research and development and demonstration of these niche applications will help commercialize the larger markets such as automobiles by providing real time data that can be used to improve the technology and manufacturing capability. It also helps build the supply chain to develop, manufacture, distribute, and service the fuel cells and associated components at a quicker pace.
As part of its Market Transformation program, the U.S. Department of Energy commissioned the Battelle Memorial Institute to examine the potential for fuel cells in various applications. The study, “Identification and Characterization of Near-term Direct Hydrogen Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Markets” found that hydrogen-fueled proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells offer an especially unique value proposition for forklifts in warehousing/distribution centers, among other applications. The study examined lifecycle costs, market penetration and customer opinions and trends. The results found that smaller PEM fuel cell-powered pallet trucks on a lifecycle cost basis require approximately 48 to 50% less investment than battery-powered pallet trucks in high-throughput applications. It also showed that while PEM fuel cell-powered forklifts require more capital investment than incumbent alternatives, they provide significant savings in operation and maintenance. The variables include the cost of hydrogen, fuel cell lift, declining hours of operation and declining labor rates. Here is a PDF of the entire study from www1.eere.energy.gov.
Other fuel cell forklift demonstrations are discovering the benefits of converting fleets to fuel cell power around the world. In recent field tests, fuel cell forklifts ran three times as long between fueling, with much shorter refueling times – minutes compared to half hour or longer to change out a battery. This results in significant increases in productivity and paybacks on investment of less than 4 years for many operators. Individual warehouses and distribution centers can install their own hydrogen fueling station in house or use mobile fuel trucks, which assures the mobility of gasoline and diesel vehicles and eliminates the need for central charging stations.
Another advantage over conventional technology is weight and mass. Batteries are heavy and take up a lot of storage space while only providing up to 6 hours of run time. Fuel cells last more than twice as long (12-14 hours) and there is no more need for battery storage and changing rooms, leaving more warehouse space for products.
Government Trials
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), through the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), has taken up the cause with a very aggressive fuel cell forklift program The DLA is responsible for supplying the nation’s military services and several civilian agencies with critical resources and logistical support for both peacetime and wartime operations, as well as emergency preparedness and humanitarian missions. That support translates to warehousing and distributing more than 5.2 million items, such as military and commercial repair parts, clothing and medical supplies and industrial and electronic components, making the DLA the second largest warehouse operation in the United States. According to the DLA, the DoD is responsible for around 80% of all federal energy consumption, so finding ways to reduce energy use is paramount.
The DLA is implementing fuel cell forklifts at several of its facilities that provide customers throughout the United States and the world.
In Susquehanna, Pennsylvania at the Defense Distribution Depot (DDSP), the DLA has been working on the business case for fuel cells by replacing lead acid batteries with fuel cells in battery-powered Class 1 forklifts. Two fuel cell manufacturers, Plug Power (via its wholly-owned subsidiary General Hydrogen) and Nuvera are supplying the fuel cells to retrofit at least 20 of the electric vehicles while Air Products will provide the hydrogen fueling station technology infrastructure. Beginning in August 2008, DDSP personnel will operate the fuel cell-powered forklifts alongside lead-acid battery forklifts in daily operations to compare data on costs and operation. The demonstration will last two years.
The DLA is also planning trials with new fuel cell forklifts (as opposed to retrofitting battery ones) and is in final contract negotiations and planning at the Defense Distribution Depots in Warner Robins, Georgia (DDWG) and San Joaquin, California (DDJC). Both facilities are expected to receive 20 new fuel cell forklifts. The hydrogen at DDWG will be reformed from natural gas while at the DDJC; the plan is to add the capability to generate hydrogen from solar power, making it a renewable energy site.
A potential future DLA demonstration project is also being targeted for Ft. Lewis, Washington using 19 fuel cell forklifts in a maintenance environment. The project also includes a stationary fuel cell installation at a wastewater treatment plant using anaerobic digester gas as the hydrogen feedstock and a fuel cell bus that would shuttle between Ft. Lewis and the McChord Airforce Base.
At the state level, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has provided $750,000 of a $1.29 million project to develop hydrogen-powered forklifts. The vehicles are being built by the Raymond Corporation and will be used at its manufacturing facility in Greene, New York. The fuel cell is from Plug Power (its wholly-owned subsidiary Cellex Power) and Nuvera Fuel Cells providing its PowerTap PTH-12 hydrogen refueling system for the project.
Not to be outdone, South Carolina issued the Greater Columbia Fuel Cell Challenge, a public/private initiative with the goal of making Columbia, South Carolina the pinnacle of hydrogen and fuel cell development and deployment. One of the Challenge’s recent awards was $1 million-plus for the demonstration of fuel cell forklifts in plants in South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. Hydrogenics provided its HyPX Fuel Cell Power Packs to partner LiftOne and Engineered Solutions (divisions of Carolina Tractor), for integration into Linde Materials Handling forklifts for the project. In June 2007, two forklifts were deployed at Michelin’s Columbia, South Carolina plant, in the first of six two- week evaluations at facilities in Columbia. Other targeted locations include Leigh Fibers, ISOLA Laminates and PBR.
According to LiftOne, customers could save between 15% and 20% by shifting from batteries to fuel cells due to increased worker productivity (no need to change batteries) and greater use of warehouse space (no battery storage/changing room is required), and hopes the demonstration project deployments will provide data to validate these estimates.
Industry Demonstrations
Several fuel cell manufacturers are focusing on the materials handling market for their products and conducting their own trials to prove the value over conventional technologies.
In 2007, Plug Power, a fuel cell manufacturer based in Latham, New York, purchased both Cellex Power Products, Inc. and General Hydrogen, two companies with a focus on the fuel cell materials handling market. Both companies are developing systems for class 2 stand-up reach trucks, which are also key components of most fleets in large distribution centers. They are also pursuing different segments of the market - General Hydrogen is focused on Class 1 sit-down lift trucks used in manufacturing operations while Cellex Power is targeting Class 3 rider pallet trucks primarily used in large-scale distribution centers.
These fuel cell manufacturers have been conducting demonstration trials in name brand corporation’s warehouses for some time now, including retail distribution, tire manufacturing, automotive manufacturing, grocery distribution, and third party logistics. Companies are realizing the potential environmental and economic benefits of incorporating fuel cell forklifts into their warehouses, such as Wal-Mart, General Motors and Federal Express.
Wal-Mart, for example, recently ordered more GenDrive™ fuel cells from Cellex to power pallet trucks at its food distribution center in Washington Court House, Ohio. This order comes after Wal-Mart completed field trials of both Cellex’s Alpha and Beta fuel cell forklifts. During the second trial, 12 fuel-cell-powered pallet trucks ran for more than four months, logging more than 18,000 hours and 2,100 indoor fuelings. The fuel cell forklifts achieved a 3.5% increase in productivity over battery-powered units.
East Penn Manufacturing, a manufacturer of high quality lead-acid batteries, has converted its entire fleet of electric reach trucks to fuel cells at its distribution center in Topton, Pennsylvania. This system has been implemented as part of a field test of the new ReadyPower™ unit, which combines Nuvera’s fuel cell technology with East Penn’s advanced lead-acid battery design. Nuvera also provided its PowerTap hydrogen generation system.
In Canada, Hydrogenics Corporation is leading a consortium to develop and demonstrate fuel cell-powered forklifts with funding from the Canadian government. The company has completed field trials at both GM of Canada’s car assembly plant and FedEx Canada’s mission critical logistics hub at Toronto International Airport. Hydrogenics designed, built and integrated its fuel cell into two Hyster Class 1 forklifts at the two facilities. To fuel the vehicles, Hydrogenics designed and built an indoor, PEM electrolyzer hydrogen refueler. The partnership with General Motors received additional funding from Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) so Hydrogenics and NACCO Materials Handling Group will incorporate the beta version of Hydrogenics HyPM® fuel cell power packs in up to 19 forklifts for a two-year period at GM’s Oshawa car plant.
Hydrogenics Corporation is also set to deliver 60-80 HyPX Fuel Cell Power Packs to several of the world’s leading OEMs for both Class 1 lift trucks and Class 2 reach trucks, a major U.S. distributor, the armed forces, and automotive and other high production manufacturers. The majority are being deployed at customer facilities in pilot programs of 10 to 20 units for the purpose of evaluating the HyPX solution for broader enterprise-wide deployments.
Another Canadian company, Ballard Power Systems, most known for their work in automotive fuel cell development, has recently streamlined its focus to the materials handling market. Ballard entered an agreement with Exide Technologies to develop an on-board hybrid hydrogen fuel cell and lead-acid battery energy system that utilize Ballard’s Mark1020 ACS™ hydrogen fuel cell stack and Exide’s ELEMENT™ valve regulated lead acid batteries. Ballard has also recently signed a two-year supply agreement with Danish system integrator H2 Logic A/S, to supply fuel cells to integrate into forklifts for warehouses and distributions centers.
Toyota Industries Corporation developed a forklift incorporating a Toyota Motor Corporation fuel cell stack. The Toyota FCHV-F, can lift a maximum of 2,500 kilograms.
Proton Power Systems plc, based in Germany, unveiled the world’s first triple-hybrid forklift system, the “PM Package MH30“, that combines a fuel cell, a battery and supercapacitors to replace the standard battery package for the Class 1 forklift. The system is designed to replace the standard 80 V, 700Ah battery and offers more than 50% energy savings compared with diesel engine forklifts and fuel cell-only systems. A few years ago, Proton, with partners Still GmBH and Linde Gas, replaced the traction battery of a series R 60 electric forklift truck with a fuel cell for a successful demonstration project at Munich airport.
There are many more customer trials on the horizon. Since forklifts require a smaller fuel cell, refuel at the same facility and currently use an expensive power source, the obstacles facing large-scale fuel cell commercialization (size, infrastructure and cost) are all but eliminated. Hopefully these recent successful demonstrations will convince other distribution facilities to conduct trials at their facilities, which will help increase demand and production of fuel cell-powered forklifts, bringing down the price and increasing the value over conventional battery technology even more.
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