Fuel Cells Get Huge Lift from Stimulus and Major Purchases

Fuel Cells Get Huge Lift from Stimulus and Major Purchases

By Robert Rose, Founding Executive Director, US Fuel Cell Council

Fuel cell-powered forklifts have made tremendous progress moving from demonstration to actual purchases, thanks in part to the federal Recovery Act and several key customers.

Fuel cells are being developed for numerous applications – large-scale stationary power, telecommunications backup, portable electronics, light- and heavy-duty vehicles such as cars and buses.  But in the past several months, much of the action seems to be in the materials handling industry.

The fuel cell industry offers a long list of competitive benefits in materials handling compared to conventional battery systems.  Warehouse space is saved from eliminating battery storage and changing rooms and their equipment.   Plus, time saved from better performance and quick refueling. Refueling time is about one minute, much faster than a battery change, and the fuel cell run time is two to three times longer than batteries.  A study by JP Morgan found that fuel cells’ higher initial costs are offset by lower maintenance and longer run time so the total life cycle cost is competitive today.  Because of the productivity gains and reduced down time, one customer of fuel cell manufacturer Plug Power estimates they could potentially save $200,000 - 250,000 per year on each fuel cell-powered forklift. 

Fuel cell forklifts also carry an added bonus in the form of a “green” image, and a green reality.  A well-to-forks study conducted by Argonne National Laboratory compared  fuel cell powered lift trucks using hydrogen generated on-site from natural gas with  battery electric lift trucks (using average emissions from the US power grid),  and with propane engine lift trucks.

The fuel cell trucks produce 800 g/kWh of greenhouse gas emissions, while battery powered lift trucks produce 1300 g/kWh - 63% more than fuel cells. Not surprisingly, the study found that both fuel cell and battery powered trucks are significantly cleaner than ICE trucks operating on propane.

Federal Help

The American Recovery and Investment Act allocated more than $10 million dollars for five companies to deploy more than 300 fuel cell-powered forklifts.  The companies included Anheuser-Busch (23), East Penn Manufacturing (10), Sysco (90), Fed Ex Freight East (35) and GENCO Supply Chain Solutions (156).  But all purchasers can take advantage of federal tax credits for vehicles and for fueling infrastructure.  Some of these credits are convertible to grants for companies that are showing a deficit on their tax forms. 
Other companies are making the transition on their own or taking advantage of other state and federal programs.   Bridgestone-Firestone in Aiken, South Carolina, is going all hydrogen at their new facility, replacing all 43 of their forklift fleet.

Central Grocers Forklift

The real push in recent months has been from the supermarket sector.  Central Grocers leads the charge, purchasing 220 Yale forklifts for its new warehouse being constructed in Joliet, Illinois.   The company estimates it will save $1.5 million over 10 years.  The large supermarket chain Wegmans also sees the value in switching from lead-acid batteries to hydrogen-fueled forklifts, citing the combination of environmental and economic benefits as the impetus for their recent transition.  The company plans to purchase 50 new pallet trucks and nine forklifts to run on hydrogen, using a $1 million grant from the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority to purchase an outdoor hydrogen storage tank and indoor fueling dispensers for its distribution center in the Highridge Business Park in Cass Township, Pennsylvania.  The hydrogen installation is anticipated to be completed in November.   The company is also working with GENCO Supply Chain Solutions to receive some of the fuel cells it purchases with the $6.1 million received via the Recovery Act for conversion of lift truck fleets in Wegmans produce and grocery buildings. 

H.E. Butt Groceries (H-E-B) in San Antonio, Texas, will be deploying 14 of Nuvera Fuel Cells’ PowerEdge RL25 fuel cells in reach forklift trucks for its Perishables Distribution Center (PDC).  The trucks will be fueled by hydrogen generated by Nuvera’s PowerTap system.   H-E-B sees the fuel cells as not only a way to improve productivity but also significantly reduce carbon emissions.

At its Dallas, Texas, bottling facility, Nestlé Waters North America has installed 32 Plug Power GenDrive™ hydrogen fuel cells and converted its entire fleet of sit down counterbalanced lift trucks from internal combustion (IC) engines powered by liquid petroleum gas to Yale® class I electric lift trucks.  The conversion came after the company evaluated both hydrogen fuel cells and lead acid batteries as potential replacements for their current fuel source.  A big factor in the decision was the heavy labor and equipment costs associated with buying, storing, maintaining and changing batteries.

One company is helping move fuel cells in the materials handling industry without hydrogen.  Methanol, a simple alcohol, is often used in fuel cells for consumer electronics.   Oorja Protonics has developed a methanol fuel cell, the OorjaPac™, and has been making strides in the marketplace.  Oorja recently received an order from Super Store Industries (SSI), a dairy products distribution company, for retrofitting its fuel cells in SSI’s entire material handling fleet operating in the freezer at its Lathrop, California, facility.

Nissan North America (NNA) is also a recent Oorja customer, purchasing methanol fuel cells for 60 of the “tugs” it uses to transport vehicle parts in its 5.4 million square-foot assembly plant in Smyrna, Tennessee.   The purchase comes after a rigorous 18-month trial of the forklifts first.  NNA estimates that the switch will eliminate more than 300 tons of CO2 emissions that were being released into the atmosphere, but also the more than 70 electric battery chargers that were consuming almost 540,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.  The company anticipates saving $225,000 a year and regaining 35 man hours a day that was normally spent on recharging batteries.  NNA can now relocate the 6 dedicated battery changers to other jobs at the plant.  Also, if NNA had continued with the old tugger battery charging process into next year, it would have had to purchase more batteries at a cost of $300,000.

The Defense Department, which moves massive amounts of material, has also taken an interest in fuel cells, driven by the same economic and environmental motives as the private sector.  The Defense Logistics Agency, the second largest warehouse operation in the United States, was an early booster of fuel cell fork lifts after an analysis suggested substantial benefits when used in multiple shift operations.  Today, DLA has deployed or is planning to deploy 99 fork lifts at three defense depot warehouses and Ft. Lewis utilizing four different hydrogen production techniques.

Free Trial

Linde

Three years ago, forklift manufacturer LiftOne entered into a distributor agreement with Hydrogenics to test and market their HyPX series Fuel Cell Power Packs for lift trucks.   The following summer, the companies began six separate deployments as a part of the 2007 Greater Columbia Fuel Cell Challenge Program, with two Linde lift trucks running at each site. Since then, LiftOne has been conducting educational seminars at their branches on hydrogen, safety and fuel cell forklifts. The company has also started, with the Department of Energy (DOE), a free trial for sites willing to put a fuel cell forklift into normal operations service – providing a new CAT E series, 5000 lb/4 wheel sit down rider lift trucks, equipped with Hydrogenics HyPx-1-33 Fuel Cell Power packs.  The trucks are operated for one full month with no charge for the forklift or hydrogen, which is provided by Air Products.  LiftOne and Air Products conduct full hands-on operator training before trucks are commissioned.  The fueling process takes about 6 – 8 minutes each time, and the fuel cell allows for 8 – 10 hours of lift truck operation before refueling is necessary.  Stanley Tool was the first site selected under this new DOE program.

Fueling

With fueling, another benefit is flexibility.  Major industrial suppliers like Linde and Air Products offer hydrogen fueling options, as do smaller companies like Hydrogenics of Canada and Nuvera.  Warehouse operators may choose to have hydrogen delivered and stored, or generated on site (if there is natural gas available).  The “greenest” option is to use renewable electricity to extract hydrogen from water.  While this is the most expensive option today, costs are projected to come down in the future, and many in the industry see it as the ultimate fueling pathway. 

As more and more companies discover the financial and environmental benefits of fuel cells over conventional battery technology, the materials handling industry will be helping lift fuel cells out of the warehouses and into the mainstream in other markets.

About the Author:

Robert Rose is founding executive director of the US Fuel Cell Council, the business association of the fuel cell industry. Established in 1998, the council has more than 100 members. The Council conducts a wide variety of technical, safety, educational and policy activities consistent with its mission of commercializing fuel cells for all applications. Rose also founded the Breakthrough Technologies Institute, an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting advanced environmental and energy technologies from the perspective of the public interest. BTI’s fuel cell education program, Fuel Cells 2000, was launched in 1993 and is internationally recognized.

In a career spanning more than 30 years in Washington, DC, Rose has served in senior communications and policy positions in the U.S. government, provided consulting service and advice to a wide range of public and private sector clients, written or edited several books, and appeared before Committees of Congress.

Rose is the author of Fuel Cells and Hydrogen: The Path Forward, which outlines a public-private partnership to develop and commercialize fuel cells and a supporting fuel infrastructure. The Path Forward helped shape the fuel cell provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Rose has many other writing and speaking credits and is a regular media source.

Rose is the 2004 recipient of the Fuel Cell Seminar Award, the most prestigious award of its kind in the U.S. Rose received his Bachelor’s degree in English and Philosophy from the University of Nebraska in 1968.