- Reduced servicing and maintenance costs
- Reduced warehouse footprint
- No spare batteries required
Loughborough — Intelligent Energy, the UK fuel cell engineering company, has announced it is launching a power product for the European Electric Hand Truck (fleet order picker) market with partner German-based FES Fahrzeug Entwicklung Sachsen GmbH, who already have fuel cell integration experience.
Intelligent Energy’s class-leading fuel cell technologies, together with the OEM development expertise of FES, now combine to provide compelling fuel cell power products for European Class 3 trucks used in the warehouse, logistics and distribution markets.
Intelligent Energy’s fuel cell modules (FCMs) are zero emission, operate near-silently and refuel in minutes with no need for the lengthy re-charging times that are required for battery operated MHE. European Class 3 MHE has a small footprint of 210mm battery width according to DIN 43535 which has been a barrier, up until now, for the integration of fuel cells. With recent changes from slow charge lead-acid batteries to faster charge lithium-ion batteries, comes an increased need for electrical power and substation capacity to sites, a cost which is usually charged to the site owner. In addition, battery-powered MHE experience a reduction in their voltage during operation which impacts on performance and extends operational downtime due to re-charge.
In contrast, fuel cells provide the benefit of steady voltage output, require little downtime with a three-minute cylinder refill of hydrogen and are easy to switch to from a battery box. Intelligent Energy fuel cell products will fit into the existing space and use the same connections. The advantages continue with no spare batteries needed, minimal maintenance/servicing and warehouse space freed up due to no requirement for recharging stations and the associated infrastructure that comes with it.
Currently, fuel cell-powered MHEs are successfully integrated into larger applications (approximately 330mm battery tanks) operating in US warehouses. In Europe, grocery warehouses rely on fleets of order pickers that use a smaller battery space of 210mm (width). Intelligent Energy’s FCMs are compact and will easily be accommodated. Providing 1.2kW of power and operating in a temperature range of -10°C to 40°C they fit perfectly into European warehouse requirements. The operating temperature can widen to -30°C with the use of an additional cold pack, a perfect solution for cold storage locations.
Lee Juby, Chief Sales Officer at Intelligent Energy, said: “FES is a world-class integrator and we are looking forward to delivering products with them in 2020.”
Ben Wendrock, Team Leader at FES Fahrzeug Entwicklung Sachsen, states: “Intelligent Energy is a manufacturer with many years of experience in the development of high-quality fuel cell systems. The FCM fuel cell system is the perfect solution for compact, powerful plug & play drive modules powered by hydrogen to replace standard battery boxes for logistic vehicles.”
Intelligent Energy’s Fuel Cell Modules are CE and FCC certified and come with a warranty period. For more information or to speak to us visit www.intelligent-energy.com/our-products or call +44(0)1509 271271. For more information about Intelligent Energy’s products for MHE visit https://www.intelligent-energy.com/uploads/accompanying_files/MHE_Case_Study_web_version.pdf
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