NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Performance in the 

Key Early Markets of Material Handling 

Equipment and Backup Power

2013 Fuel Cell Seminar and Energy Exposition

Jennifer Kurtz, Sam Sprik, Todd Ramsden, Genevieve 

Saur, Chris Ainscough, Matt Post, Mike Peters

October 23, 2013

Columbus, Ohio

NREL/PR-5400-60865
2

www.nrel.gov/hydrogen/proj_tech_validation.html

NFCTEC Analysis Approach

National Fuel Cell Technology 

Evaluation Center

NFCTEC

Analysis and reporting of real-world operation data
3

Objectives

• Assess technology

o Perform independent technology assessment in real world operation conditions

o Focus on fuel cell system and hydrogen infrastructure: performance, operation, and 

safety

o Leverage data processing and analysis capabilities developed under the fuel cell vehicle 

Learning Demonstration project

o Evaluate material handling equipment (MHE) and backup power

o Analysis includes up to 1,000 fuel cell systems deployed with American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds

• Support market growth

o Provide analyses and results relevant to the markets’ value proposition

o Report on technology status to fuel cell and hydrogen communities and other key 

stakeholders such as end users

Assess the technology status in real world operations, establish 

performance baselines, report on fuel cell and hydrogen 

technology, and support market growth by evaluating 

performance relevant to the markets’ value proposition 
4

28 Backup Power CDPs—Count and Category

Infra. Operation

(6)

Fuel Cell Operation

(5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 

15, 16, 17, 21)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Average Run Hours Per Month

Percent of Systems

Monthly Run Time

NREL cdp_bu_16

Created: Apr-02-13 2:43 PM | Data Range: 2009Q3-2012Q4

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Average Starts Per Month

Percent of Systems

Average Starts Per Month

NREL cdp_bu_17

Created: Apr-02-13 2:43 PM | Data Range: 2009Q3-2012Q4

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

System Operation Hours vs. Calendar Days

Calendar Days

Operating Hours

NREL cdp_bu_21

Created: Apr-02-13 2:44 PM | Data Range: 2009Q3-2012Q4

Ten Percent Use Line

Five Percent Use Line

Calendar Days = span from first to last use

Fuel Cell Reliability

(4, 10)

< 1%

Start Reliability

EStop: 1

No Fuel: 2

System Failure: 5

NREL cdp_bu_10

Created: Apr-03-13 11:21 AM | Data Range: 2009Q3-2012Q4

1788 out of 1796 successful starts

99.6 %

8 failed operations

Unsuccessful Operation Categories

Deployment

(1, 2, 3, 14, 19)

FC Unit Locations - Backup Power

0

25

50

75

100

125

Backup Power (393 Sites and 817 FC Units)

NREL cdp_bu_19

Created: Apr-03-13 11:57 AM | Data Range: 2009Q3-2012Q4

Number of FC

Units in

State/Site U.S. Grid Outage Stats

(18, 20)

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Median Demonstrated^2

Average Demonstrated^2

Max Demonstrated^2

Median Grid Outage^1

Average Grid Outage^1

Average Hurricane^1

Hours

Continuous System Run Time

Durations demonstrated from ARRA project data

65.5 hours

0.3 hours

0.8 hours

38.5 hours

7.3 hours

86.5 hours

Sandy 142.5 hours

Irene 55.5 hours

Isaac 61.4 hours

NREL cdp_bu_18

Created: Apr-03-13 11:16 AM | Data Range: 2009Q3-2012Q4

1) Grid data from Electric Disturbance Event (OE-417) Annual Summaries 2002-2012

2) Fuel cell operations less than 5 minutes apart have been combined

 to address intermittent operation. 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

 23

 61

 93 85 91

 78

149

 97

123

307

196

Number of Incidents

Year

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

Outage time (hr)

Power Outages1 (2002-2012)

Average number of outages per year = 118

Average outage time = 42 hours

Number of Outages

Average Time per Outage

NREL cdp_bu_20

Created: Apr-02-13 2:43 PM | Data Range: 2009Q3-2012Q4

1) Grid data from Electric Disturbance Event (OE-417) Annual Summaries 2002-2012

Cost of Ownership

(22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 

28)
5

Backup Power Operation Summary 

2009 Q1–2013 Q2

Systems in operation*

Successful starts

Average site

capacity in kW

Continuous run

hours demonstrated

Start attempts

*Not all systems have detailed data reporting to NREL

Installed capacity

in MW

Operation hours

Systems are operating reliably in 23 

states. Reasons for unsuccessful starts 

include an e-stop signal, no fuel, and 

other system failures.

 

 

 

 

0

25

50

75

100

125

Number of FC

Units in

State/Site
6

Backup Power Fuel Cell Systems Deployed

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

 10 14 14 31 44

204 232

357

494

625 649 658

702

807 830 836 842

Backup Power Fuel Cell Systems Deployed

2009 Q32009 Q42010 Q12010 Q22010 Q32010 Q42011 Q12011 Q22011 Q32011 Q42012 Q12012 Q22012 Q32012 Q42013 Q12013 Q22013 Q3

Cumulative Systems 1,2 Deployed

NREL cdp_bu_01

Created: Sep-27-13 1:42 PM | Data Range: 2009Q3-2013Q3 1) Sites may have more than one FC system

2) Not all FC systems are supplying operation data
7

Annualized Cost by Runtime
8

8-Hour Annualized Cost of Ownership
9

Analysis of Fuel Cell Backup Power Operation with U.S. Grid 

Outage from 01/2010 through 08/2013
10

74 MHE CDPs—Count and Category

Deployment & Site 

Overview (1, 40)

Fuel Cell Operation

(2, 7, 8, 11, 15, 

16, 17, 23, 24, 63) Fuel Cell Reliability

(28, 29, 30, 31)

Fuel Cell Safety

(26, 27, 53, 56, 57)

Infra. Safety

(25, 41, 46, 51, 55)

Infra. Reliability

(45, 48, 49, 50)

FC Maintenance

(12, 13, 14, 43, 54, 61)

(1) Total cost represents the annualized cost of ownership of Class I, II, and III forklifts on a net present value basis, accounting for capital, 

operating, and maintenance costs of forklifts, power packs, and infrastructure (labor costs for maintenance and for charging or fueling are 

included, but labor costs of forklift material handling operations are excluded). Costs are calculated assuming that the material handling 

operations are ongoing, with equipment replacements made as necessary. Capital, operating, and maintenance costs are assumed to

remain constant in real-dollar terms, and capital purchases are discounted using a discount rate representing the time value of money. 

Fuel cell system costs reflect the current fuel cell tax credit of $3,000/kW or 30% of purchase price. Analysis does not consider the 

potential productivity increases resulting from the constant power output of fuel cell systems, which may be significant. Costs of 

ownership of Class II forklifts are expected to be similar for Class I forklifts, though the cost of the lift itself is expected to be higher.

Costs are based on information provided by deployment host partners (end-users) based on a questionnaire developed by NREL, 

supplemented with data provided by project partners, and are reflective of the material handling operations of these deployments. Where 

appropriate, fuel cell deployment data were used in place of end-user questionnaire data; in particular, data from CDPs 1, 6, 8, 14, and 22 

were used. Cost assessment will be further refined as additional data are available.

Total Cost of Ownership for Class I, II & III Forklifts1

Cost of Ownership

(58, 59, 60,64) Total Cost of Ownership Sensitivity Analysis1

(1) Total cost represents the annualized cost of ownership of Class I, II, and III forklifts on a net present value basis. Fuel cell system costs 

reflect the current fuel cell tax credit of $3,000/kW or 30% of purchase price. Costs are based on information provided by deployment 

host partners based on a questionnaire developed by NREL, supplemented with additional data provided by project partners, and are 

reflective of the material handling operations of these deployments. Where appropriate, fuel cell deployment data were used in place of 

end-user questionnaire data; in particular, data from CDPs 1, 6, 8, 14, and 22 were used. 

Sensitivity analysis shows the ranges in annual per lift cost of ownership resulting from varying key parameters affecting battery and fuel 

cell forklift cost.

Fuel Cell Durability

(32, 33, 34, 38, 39, 73)

< 10000 hours > 10000 hours 0%

 10%

 20%

 30%

 40%

 50%

 60%

 70%

 80%

 90%

100%

Fuel Cell Stacks Projected Hours to 10% Voltage Degradation

Projected Hours to 10% Voltage Degradation 1,3

FC Stacks [%]

In Service

Not In Service2

NREL cdp_mhe_97

Created: Apr-02-13 9:36 AM | Data Range: 2009Q1-2012Q4

1) Projection using field data, calculated at high stack current, from operation hour 0.

 Projected hours may differ from an OEM's end-of-life criterion and does not address "catastrophic" failure modes.

2) Indicates stacks that are no longer accumulating hours either a) temporarily or b) have been retired for non- stack performance related issues 

 or c) removed from DOE program.

3) Projected hours limited based on demonstrated hours.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Amount Fueled in an Hour [kg]

Frequency [% of total]

Hydrogen Dispensed Per Hour - ARRA

NREL cdparra_mhe_69

Created: Apr-02-13 8:41 AM | Data Range: 2010Q1-2012Q4

Average: 4.8 kgs per hour

Median: 3.5 kgs per hour

Max: 52.5 kgs per hour

Infra. Operation

(3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 21, 22, 35, 

37, 42, 62, 65, 68, 69, 70, 

71)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Station (Sorted By Increasing Max Daily Amount)

Capacity Utilization 2 [%]

Station Capacity Utilization

Max Daily

20 kg

Max Daily

25 kg

Max Daily

64 kg

Max Daily

99 kg

Max Daily

102 kg

Max Daily

135 kg

Max Daily

293 kg

Max Daily

358 kg

42.9%

Average Daily Utilization1

Maximum Daily Utilization

NREL cdparra_mhe_71

Created: Apr-02-13 10:48 AM | Data Range: 2009Q4-2012Q4

1Maximum quarterly utilization considers all days; average daily utilization considers only days when at least one filling occurred 2

100% represents maximum daily amount dispensed for each individual site

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0

50

100

150

200

250

Station (Sorted By Increasing Max Daily Amount)

Fills Per Day

Station Usage

Maximum Daily Fills

Average Daily Fills1

NREL cdparra_mhe_70

Created: Apr-02-13 8:52 AM | Data Range: 2010Q1-2012Q4

1Average daily fills considers only days when at least one fill occurred

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Number of Fuelings in an Hour

Frequency [% of total]

Number of Fuelings Per Hour - ARRA

NREL cdparra_mhe_68

Created: Apr-02-13 8:25 AM | Data Range: 2010Q1-2012Q4

Average: 7.3 per hour

Median: 5.0 per hour

Max: 39.0 per hour

<0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Simultaneous Fills

Back-to-Back Fills

36 % of fills are within 0-5 minutes of each other

23 % of fills have more than 20 minutes between them

228912 Total Fills

Time Between Fuelings* [min]

# of Fuelings [% of total]

Histogram of Time Between Fuelings

All Sites Combined

Individual Sites

200 225 250 275 300 325 350 375 400 425 450 0

1

2

3

4

5x 104 Final Pressures for Fills with <5 Minutes in Between

# of Fuelings

Final Pressure [bar]

Previous Fill

Next Fill

NREL cdparra_mhe_65

Created: Apr-02-13 8:12 AM | Data Range: 2010Q1-2012Q4 *Time is from end of fill to start of next fill.

Infra. Maintenance

(18, 19, 20, 44, 47, 52, 

66, 67, 72,76,77)

0

50

100

150

200

250

AIR SYSTEM

CONTROL ELECTRONICS

DISPENSER

FITTINGS&PIPING

HYDROGEN COMPRESSOR

VALVES

MTBF (Days)

MTBF by Equipment Category: Infrastructure (Delivered H2 Only)

Median Site

Lowest Site

NREL cdparra_mhe_72

Created: Apr-02-13 11:01 AM | Data Range: 2010Q1-2012Q4

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Month

Count of Maintenance Events

Infrastructure Maintenance by Month

Unscheduled

Scheduled

NREL cdp_mhe_67

Created: Apr-02-13 9:36 AM | Data Range: 2009Q1-2012Q4

8%

19%

23%

50%

Total Events = 1,0581

64% unscheduled

entire

system 46

misc 124

multiple

systems 221

classified

events1 667

Event Count

8%

19%

17%

56%

Total Hours = 7,080

62% unscheduled hydrogen compressor

control electronics

dispenser

air system

NREL cdp_mhe_66

Created: Apr-02-13 9:35 AM | Data Range: 2009Q1-2012Q4

Delivered Hydrogen Infrastructure Maintenance By Equipment Type

MISC includes the following failure modes: seal, fuel system, safety,

thermal management, storage, electrical, software, fittings&piping, valves,

sensors, other

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Apr-2010

Jul-2010

Oct-2010Jan-2011

Apr-2011

Jul-2011

Oct-2011Jan-2012

Apr-2012

Jul-2012

Oct-2012Jan-2013

Apr-2013

% of Total Monthly Maintenance Labor Hours

Equipment Percentage of Repair Labor Hours Over Time*

HYDROGEN COMPRESSOR

CONTROL ELECTRONICS

DISPENSER

NREL cdparra_mhe_77 AIR SYSTEM Created: Sep-30-13 12:56 PM | Data Range: 2010Q10-2013Q2

*Calculated as a percentage

of all maintenance each month; bars may

not total to 100% if other maintenance

categories were present.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

AIR SYSTEM

CONTROL ELECTRONICS

DISPENSER

ELECTRICAL

ENTIRE SYSTEM

FITTINGS&PIPING

FUEL SYSTEM

HYDROGEN COMPRESSOR

MULTIPLE SYSTEMS

OTHER

SAFETY

SENSORS

SOFTWARE

STORAGE

THERMAL MANAGEMENT

VALVES

Repair Labor Time (Hours)

Equipment Category Repair Time: Infrastructure (Delivered H2 Only)

NREL cdparra_mhe_76

Created: Sep-28-13 10:08 AM | Data Range: 2010Q10-2013Q2

75% Percentile

Median

25% Percentile

Mean
11

MHE Operation Summary 

2009 Q4–2013 Q2

Units in operation*

Hydrogen fills

Hydrogen dispensed

in kg

Operation hours

Average operation hours

between fills

Average fill amount

in kg

Average fill time

in minutes *One project has completed

Validation of MHE is based on 

real-world operation data 

from high-use facilities
12

Study of FC Voltage Degradation Against 10,000 Hours

< 10000 hours > 10000 hours 0%

 10%

 20%

 30%

 40%

 50%

 60%

 70%

 80%

 90%

100%

Fuel Cell Stacks Projected Hours to 10% Voltage Degradation

Projected Hours to 10% Voltage Degradation 1,3

FC Stacks [%]

In Service

Not In Service2

NREL cdp_mhe_97

Created: Sep-28-13 12:46 PM | Data Range: 2009Q1-2013Q2

1) Projection using field data, calculated at high stack current, from operation hour 0.

 Projected hours may differ from an OEM's end-of-life criterion and does not address "catastrophic" failure modes.

2) Indicates stacks that are no longer accumulating hours either a) temporarily or b) have been retired for non- stack performance related issues 

 or c) removed from DOE program.

3) Projected hours limited based on demonstrated hours.

More than 50% of stacks have 

projected hours to 10% voltage 

degradation >10,000 hours. 
13

Study of Infrastructure Usage by Daily Fills

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0

50

100

150

200

250

Station (Sorted By Increasing Max Daily Amount)

Fills Per Day

Station Usage

Maximum Daily Fills

Average Daily Fills1

NREL cdparra_mhe_70

Created: Sep-26-13 10:20 AM | Data Range: 2009Q4-2013Q2

1

Average daily fills considers only days when at least one fill occurred

The maximum daily fill count for 

two sites was >200 fills. Those 

two sites average nearly 100 fills 

per day.
14

0

50

100

150

200

250

AIR SYSTEM

CONTROL ELECTRONICS

DISPENSER

FITTINGS&PIPING

HYDROGEN COMPRESSOR

SENSORS

VALVES

MTBF (Days)

MTBF by Equipment Category: Infrastructure (Delivered H2

 Only)

Median Site

Lowest Site

NREL cdparra_mhe_72

Created: Sep-26-13 10:24 AM | Data Range: 2010Q1-2013Q2

Breakdown of MTBF by Key Delivered Hydrogen 

Infrastructure Categories 

Consistent across all sites are 

failures with control electronics 

and hydrogen compressors. 

These two categories have low 

MTBF.
15

0 25 50 75 100 125 150 175 200 225 250 275 300 0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Site MTBF1 (Days)

Count of Sites

Site MTBF (Calendar Days In Operation): Infrastructure

NREL cdp_mhe_48

Created: Sep-28-13 12:45 PM | Data Range: 2009Q1-2013Q2

1. Cumulative Mean Time Between Failure

Infrastructure Reliability Analysis

Infrastructure consistently 

delivering 250 and 350 bar 

fills even though the 

majority of the sites have a 

MTBF of 25 days or less

Compressor

51%

Control

Electronics

 20%

Dispenser

19%

Air

System

10%

Delivered H2 Maintenance 

Count by Category

1,330 Maintenance Events

63% unscheduled
16

Breakdown of Failure Modes for Top Four Maintenance 

Categories for Infrastructure

0 100 200 300 400

HYDROGEN COMPRESSOR

DISPENSER

CONTROL ELECTRONICS

AIR SYSTEM

Event Count

51%*

20%*

19%*

10%*

DATA ERROR

DRIVE OFF

EXCESSIVE NOISE

FAILED CLOSED

HYDROGEN LEAK

INSPECT TROUBLE ALARM OR REPORT

LIGHTNING STRIKE

METAL FATIGUE

MOISTURE INFILTRATION

OUT OF CALIBRATION

PRESSURE LOW

REPLACE FAILED PARTS

TEMPERATURE HIGH

MISC

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500

HYDROGEN COMPRESSOR

DISPENSER

CONTROL ELECTRONICS

AIR SYSTEM

Labor Hours

58%*

18%*

14%*

9%*

NREL cdp_mhe_52

Created: Sep-26-13 9:51 AM | Data Range: 2009Q1-2013Q2

Failure Modes for Top Four Infrastructure Equipment Categories

* Percentage of total events or hours, reference CDP 66.

MISC includes the following failure modes: ambient temperature too low, broken wire,

cavitation, data error, debris infiltration, electrical short, failed closed, false alarm, flow

high, flow low, fluid leak non-hydrogen, fluid leak non_hydrogen, fluid

leak_non_hydrogen, inspect trouble alarm or report, maintenance error, manufacturing

defect, metal fatigue, moisture infiltration, network malfunction, operator protocol, other,

power outage, pressure high, pressure low, replace failed parts, software bug,

unspecified electronics failure, vandalism, voltage low, other

There are many different failure modes for the top four 

categories and these modes provide insight for RD&D needs
17

Technical Summary—What We’ve Learned

Fuel Cell Backup Power

• Operating reliability in 23 states with 

99.7% successful starts.

• Maximum continuous run time of 65 

hours due to an unplanned grid 

outage.

Fuel Cell Material Handling Equipment

• Operating with an average availability 

of ~98% at eight end-user facilities.

• Most systems operate at least 6 hours 

a day.

• Cost of ownership comparison 

between fuel cell and battery MHE 

indicate significant cost savings for 

refueling labor and infrastructure 

space but much greater cost for 

hydrogen infrastructure and fuel.

Aggregated data showcase 

performance over the last two 

years in MHE and backup 

power.

Performance results address a 

need for published results on 

the technology status.

Data analyses develop as 

systems operate and based on 

the key performance areas in 

the markets.
Backup Slides
19

Published MHE Cost of Ownership Report

Key Findings

• Cost advantages dependent on 

deployment size and use (i.e., 

multi-shift operation per day)

• H2 fuel cell cost advantages in 

maintenance, warehouse 

infrastructure space, and 

refueling labor cost

• H2 fuel cell cost disadvantages 

in infrastructure and fuel cell 

cost and hydrogen cost

Report Sections

• Inputs, assumptions, and results for 

Class I/II and Class III

• Sensitivity study

• Intensive deployment scenario

Cost advantage per unit is ~$2,000/year for 

the average high-use facility with Class I 

and II fuel cell lift trucks analyzed by NREL
20

MHE and Infrastructure Safety Report Analyses

6%

6%

88%

By Number of Incidents

Total Incidents = 16

 

 

14%

14%

14%

14%

14%

29%

By Number of Incidents

Total Incidents = 7

Control

Electronics

Operator 

Protocol

Fuel 

System

Fittings &

Piping

FC Stack

Electrical

Dispenser

Compressor

Valves

Majority of MHE safety reports (217) are 

minor hydrogen leaks 

(4,480 stack hours per report)

Majority of infrastructure safety reports (82) 

are hydrogen leaks primarily from the 

hydrogen compressor and plumbing 

(3,587 kg dispensed per report)