Fuel Cell Forklift Near Completion

Forklift manufacturer partners with Hydrogenics and GM to produce and test prototype.

After years of research and anticipation, the vision of forklifts powered by hydrogen fuel cells is one step closer to fruition. Earlier this year, two Hyster 5,000-lb. capacity trucks, retrofitted with fuel cells made by Hydrogenics Corporation, were tested to rave reviews at the General Motors plant in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. (At press time, the trucks were being tested at a Federal Express facility at the Toronto airport.) “We purposely picked some of the heavier jobs to test this equipment to ensure that these trucks did not get any kind of an easy go, and they stood up quite well,” says Peter Etmanskie, general supervisor of mobile equipment repair for GM Canada. “I always judge the success of a test like this by how many calls I get during the day with trouble, but I had to go over and make sure everything was still working because I didn't receive any calls.”

Hyster Company, Hydrogenics and General Motors combined forces to test two fuel-cell-powered lift trucks at a Canadian plant.

The test highlighted several advantages of the fuel-cell-powered trucks. Chief among those advantages is the quick refueling time. Hydrogenics designed an on-site hydrogen generation system that uses facility electricity and facility water. The innovative system, which allowed trucks to be refueled indoors, was installed following some regulatory wrangling. Etmanskie explains, “It is somewhat of a first to have the actual refueling of the lift truck take place indoors, so it took some special work with the Canadian Standards Bureau to get the okay to do it. They set up certain criteria, and we met them.”

The result is an electrolysis unit that can generate approximately 65 kilograms of hydrogen per day. Four tube tanks, which each hold 10 kilograms at 6,000 psi, are located outside the plant. These storage tanks are connected to an indoor dispenser for refueling. “Drivers simply pull up to a dispenser that looks very much like a gasoline dispenser, hook up their trucks and press a button to dispense hydrogen into the fuel cell unit. Then they simply unhook and drive away,” notes Melissa McKinnon, who works in product management and mobility for Hydrogenics. “It only takes about two minutes to refuel a truck that will last a shift and a half. This differs pretty dramatically from batteries, which typically must be switched out at least once per shift. That's a pretty time-consuming endeavor.”

According to Etmanskie, the prototypes also offered increased efficiencies for GM. “Typically, our battery-powered trucks start off very quickly, but run slower as the battery gets depleted. When the voltage drops, the truck does not respond as quickly as it did when the battery was at full charge.” However, the fuel cell creates electricity at a full level right until the very end when the fuel runs out. The truck runs at peak efficiency through the whole runtime of the truck.

As a result, Etmanskie believes this will allow for better maintenance in the long run. Although it never came up in the test, he points to repairs that typically occur as the result of a weak battery. “Many repairs are needed because the battery voltage drops toward the end of the charge cycle. Current goes up to create the same amount of power to compensate for that, and the drive motors, pump motors and contacts have a limited expectancy compared to fuel cells. Running at full voltage may be better for the maintenance of the truck.”

Fuel cells are environmentally friendly, as they produce no harmful emissions. The hydrogen gas in the cell combines with oxygen from the air, with electricity, heat and water as the only outputs. “For the material handling market, fuel cells and hydrogen make a great deal of sense, especially in areas where the vehicles are used indoors,” Hydrogenics' McKinnon says. “One of the very positive comments we had from the GM operators is that they have no harmful emissions or smells.”

Test Background
In April 2004, Hydrogenics received a $1.56 million (CAN) grant from Sustainable Development Technology Canada, a non-profit corporation sponsored by the Canadian government to support environmental and health benefits, to develop and demonstrate a fuel-cell-powered forklift. That contribution was coupled with a $1.98 million funding commitment from a consortium including Hydrogenics, NACCO Materials Handling Group, Deere & Company, FedEx Canada and the Canadian Transportation Fuel Cell Alliance to provide the necessary funds for this research.

General Motors' Oshawa plant was selected because it met a couple of criteria. First is its proximity to Hydrogenics headquarters in Mississauga. But Hydrogenics also picked GM for strategic reasons. “Being an automotive manufacturer, GM is one of the target customers we are looking for in material handling,” says McKinnon. “The economic benefits of the fuel-cell-powered material handling equipment are especially attractive in facilities that run 24 hours a day. So we looked to a three-shift environment that had a significant fleet of equipment.”

The fuel cell power pack uses hydrogen, made on site, to power the forklift for up to a shift and a half of operation.

Hyster Company, as the primary supplier of lift trucks to GM, was approached to supply the trucks and was more than willing. “We keep an eye on technology trends and where engine technology is going,” says Lee Tracy, director of product strategy for NACCO Materials Handling Group. “We got involved now because the technology is mature enough that we can offer some customer value. What we want to do as a company is to be sure that, rather than try to go with a one-size-fits-all solution in forklifts, we look at the customer's requirements and tailor a solution for them that fits their business needs. There is a segment where fuel cells are potentially going to fill some unmet needs for customers.”

The trial has been a long time coming, much longer than even those familiar with the technology may realize. Fuel cells have actually been around since 1839, when they were first demonstrated by Sir William Grove, a Welsh scientist. Grove's invention, which he called a “gas voltaic battery,” was given the name “fuel cell” in 1889. The technology was very much a laboratory curiosity until NASA began using it on the Apollo missions. The last ten years have sparked renewed interest in the device, thanks to expanding interest in the promise of clean and efficient power generation.

According to Herman Klaus, manager of marketing strategy at NACCO Materials Handling Group, industrial applications for fuel cells gained more credence once the automotive industry got serious about it within the last five years. “The automotive industry's attention raised the level of interest and rate of development to the point where it has become much more affordable and reliable. At that point in time, it became a viable consideration for the lift truck industry.”

Meeting Customer Needs
Etmanskie's observations and praises validate the objectives of the demonstration, to provide a viable alternative fuel source for forklifts. But what is the next step? “We see this technology unfolding in two stages,” McKinnon says. “The first process is what we've done with these trucks, retrofitting standard electric trucks with our fuel cell power pack. We see that opportunity being competitive on a total cost of ownership basis around 2007, which is one of the reasons we're very excited about this market.”

The second stage, which will take longer, is having the fuel cell incorporated into the design of the truck right from the beginning. Tracy believes this is an important next step. “There's always a balance between how much space we're willing to dedicate to energy storage versus how much shift life and performance we can get. So the fuel cell's not really the limiting factor there. It will be that same trade-off that we have on any lift truck, just how much space is dedicated to putting hydrogen in.” McKinnon agrees. “Fuel cells are smaller than batteries and can be broken down into many different pieces that can be distributed throughout the truck. This may free up some space and provide ergonomic benefits to the operator.”

The Future of Fuel Cells
Prognostications on the timetable for full-scale rollout range from two to ten years. Tracy says, “We're close enough that we as an OEM need to be involved with the technology, understand where it's going and what we need to do with it. We need to be ready when it's ready.”

It was originally thought that the automotive companies would spur the viability of fuel cells and lift trucks because those companies' huge volumes would drive the cost down. But as Klaus points out, that is probably not going to be the case. “The automotive industry isn't going to be quite as fast to adopt the technology as we thought because they have an infrastructure problem that we don't have on the lift truck side. There aren't many places where someone can go to fill up a tank with hydrogen. Until that happens, this technology will not catch on with consumer vehicles.” Lift trucks, which typically remain in their facility near their central fueling location, are not bound by this constraint.

That said, there are still many tests to be done and unknowns to sort out. Costs are coming down every year, but nobody really knows yet where the tipping point is. Tremendous investments in equipment and infrastructure would need to be made by users seeking a switch. “One primary challenge will be the cost of getting the hydrogen to the plant,” notes Robert Schafer, Hyster Company's director of national accounts. “Plus, we have not perfected reliability. This is still a very young application for this technology.”

As with any new technology, there will be resistance. “Presuming that we bring this to a mature technology and do a good job integrating it with the truck, there's not really a product disadvantage,” Tracy says. “At the moment, the obvious disadvantage is fear of change. Places that are accustomed to handling batteries are going to have to handle something different. They're going to have different training requirements for their maintenance staff, new corporate practices and policies, and they'll need to decide who in their structure is responsible for refueling. Getting them over that initial hurdle will be a challenge.”

Regardless of the exact time frame, fuel cells are definitely a burgeoning technology for the material handling industry, and distributors, manufacturers and suppliers will need to be aware of its impact.

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The MHEDA Journal • Second Quarter 2005 • Volume 34, No. 2 • Contents are Copyright © Data Key Communications, Inc.
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