Fuel Cell Forklift Deployment in the USA

This chapter provides a brief overview of fuel cell powered material handling equipment (MHE) operated in the United States markets. This chapter first describes current fuel cell technologies used as power source in material handling equipment, then discusses some of the commercially available fuel cell packs and their applications in different MHE classes and finally the chapter concludes with status of fuel cell-powered MHE in 2013 and early 2014. There have been more than 6,286 fuel cell powered forklift installations since 2003, totaling almost 56 MW. These installations include more than 5,881 proton exchange membrane fuel cells and 405 direct methanol fuel cells. 1. Fuel Cell-Powered Material Handling Equipment Fuel cell systems are a promising technology that can replace batteries in material handling equipment (MHE, or more typically “forklifts”) in warehouse applications where operations usually extend for two or three shifts each day. Battery forklifts generally need to be charged and replaced one or more times each day, which adds complexity to logistics management and increases overall labor costs. Fuel cell forklifts produce zero emissions while in operation and also can operate for more than 12 hours without performance degradation. On the other hand fuel cell MHE can be refueled in couple minutes compared to the charging requirements of batteries which may take several hours. These facts make fuel cells an attractive alternative to conventional battery-powered MHE. According to Ballard Power Systems (one of the leading PEM fuel cell manufacturers), a typical high throughput warehouse can achieve up to 24 percent savings in total lifetime cost of ownership, which results in a payback period of less than one year, with over 50,000 hours of productivity recovered per year. for a typical fleet size of how many forklifts? Another advantage of fuel cells over other technologies is their wide range of operating temperatures. In fact fuel cells can operate in freezing temperatures, which led Walmart for example, to choose fuel cell lift trucks for its sustainable refrigerated distribution center in Alberta, Canada. The fuel cell-powered forklift can operate in conditions as low as -40° F (-29° C). Currently, there are two major fuel cell technologies that are used in fuel cell MHE: low temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) and direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC). Each technology has its relative advantages and disadvantages such as longer lifetime and high annualized cost of ownership in the case of PEMFC compared to shorter lifetime and 1 http://www.ballard.com/files/PDF/Material_Handling/Material_Handling_Value_Proposition_4192011.pdf 2 lower cost of ownership in the case of DMFC. Generally speaking, commercial PEMFC is used in Class I and II forklifts (threeand four-wheel, sit-down, counter-balanced forklifts) used in multi-shift operations, while DMFC is used in class III forklifts (pallet jacks) which typically have less usage in an average working day. Table 1. Fuel cell technologies for material handling Material Handling Technology 1 Technology 2 Reference Fuel Cell Technology Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Direct methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC) Fuel type H2 Methanol Power ranges 1.8-30 kW 1.5kW System efficiency 45-59% <40% [1-3] Stack Lifetime 24,000 hr (avg.) 1500 hr (avg.) [4-5] Electrical output 27-72V 24V/36V/48V Refueling Time 1.5-4 minutes < 1 min Tank capacity 0.72-1.80 kg H2 12 liter Methanol Weight of the stack (lb) 590-3000 170 Modeled Cost ($/kWnet) $3491/kW for 10 kW system @1,000 unit/yr $2357/kW for 25 kW system @1,000 unit/yr NA [6] Annualized Cost of ownership ($/lift) 17,800 For class I and II lifts ‡ 11,700 For class III lifts ‡ [4-5] Federal Incentive Credit of 30% of the cost up to $3,000 per kW Credit of 30% of the cost up to $3,000 per kW [7] ‡ Class I and II forklifts (threeand four-wheel, sit-down, counter-balanced forklifts) are used in multi-shift operations. Class III: pallet jacks (these have less frequent usage). Table 2 below summarizes the main fuel cell types used in MHE and some important characteristics like fuel cell type, power output, tank capacity, refueling time, weight and operating temperatures. Figure 1 depicts the numbers of fuel-cell powered MHE units in the past 10 years. It is also worth mentioning that Plug Power, a U.S.-based manufacturer supplies