MMH1104 Supp WDCFuelCells

7/31/2019 MMH1104 Supp WDCFuelCells

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By Jh B, Contributing Editor

iven volatile propane pricesand the limitations of bat-teries, companies might feel

as though they are forcedto choose the lesser of two evils whenpowering their lift truck fleets. Theemergence of fuel cell technology inthe materials handling industry couldoffer a viable third option, but manyquestions remain unanswered. Howreliable and durable is the hardware?How safe are hydrogen fuel cells? Whatare the up-front and long-term costs?To what extent are fuel cells greenerthan conventional energy sources?

In recent years, fuel cell manufac-turers and their customers have seenenough promise to begin a series ofsmall-scale lift truck trials, many of

which have turned into larger trialsor full-scale installations. But even aspioneers work to answer some of the

questions above, the long-term datamany buyers prefer simply hasnt yetbeen collected. Only time will tell howmuch of the lift truck market fuel cellswill ultimately capture. Early indica-tions suggest the technology couldcompete strongly in materials handlingapplications, offering reliable perfor-mance, a smaller carbon footprint aswell as multifaceted savings.

Following the invention of fuel cellsin 1838, they were referenced in the

writings of Jules Verne, the father ofscience fiction. Laboratories spent thenext century and a half working on thescience, but viable commercial solu-tions remained a fiction. In a worldwhere technological revolutions seemto come on a daily basis, impatientconsumers and industry experts alikedeveloped a dismissive attitude towardthe technology.

Its always been a joke that fuel celltechnology has been the coming thing

in the next few years for 30 years, says

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Eric Jensen, director of research anddevelopment for new technologies atCrown Equipment.

Now that solutions have finally hitthe market, Jensen suggests lift truckscould be the proving ground for morewidespread adoption of the technology.Materials handling is kind of hidden.Its not in the consumer limelight. Yousee advances in fuel cell technology forthe automotive industry, and it ends upon the front page. But I believe mate-rials handling is leading the way withfuel cells for the automotive industry,he says.

Fuel cells in the field

The space between lift trucks andfreight trucks has already been bridgedat sites like the new hydrogen fuelingstation at a Kimberly-Clark distributioncenter in Graniteville, S.C. Unveiledon Feb. 11 as the first of its kind, thestation supports the entire lift truckfleet of the DC as well as county gov-ernment vehicles and a Bridgestone/Firestone manufacturing facility across

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Bob Simon is director of processsolutions for GENCO ATC, whichpartnered with Kimberly-Clark, PlugPower and Air Products to realize thehydrogen station project. The sta-tion was built with the help of $1.1million in American Recovery andReinvestment Act dollars designedto accelerate the commercializationof hydrogen fuel cells. According toSimon, the application submitted tothe U.S. Department of Energy sug-gested over-the-road freight trucks that

travel routinely between the same des-tinations might benefit from hydrogenfueling stations at each stop.

In the meantime, the technology willlikely be dependent on similar federalgrants to build momentum in the mar-ket. The outlook is promising, but thereare still some obstacles, namely cost,says Simon. Without programs andincentives, it will be hard to overcomesome of the reservations in the industry.Customers are willing to be leaders, but

they dont want to be pioneers.Frank Devlin, fuel cell segment

manager for Raymond, agrees, notingthat despite hydrogens reputation ascatastrophically combustible, tens ofthousands of fuel cell refuelings haveoccurred with no reported incidents.As fuel cells continue to prove them-selves, energy prices might also workto encourage customers to give it achance.

Energy is on everyones minds

these days, especially with the politi-cal unrest in the Middle East, saysDevlin. People are asking whats thebest way to power anything, from yourcell phone to your lift truck.

How it works in the lab

Gus Block, a former fuel cell systemsengineer, is the director of marketing forNuvera Fuel Cells, a manufacturer offuel cell systems and hydrogen genera-tion equipment. Block says fuel cells are

energy conversion devices, like standard

engines, as opposed to energy storagedevices like batteries. There are a few

versions of the technology, says Block,but the one best suited to materials han-dling applications is based on a protonexchange membrane. Hydrogen providedto the anode side of the membrane com-bines with oxygen from the air on thecathode side. The reaction produces elec-tricity and water vapor as exhaust.

Over time, the membrane will age,with a slight decay rate over years ofuse, says Block. Nuvera estimates an

up to 12,000-hour or higher lifespanfor its fuel cell stack. Over 10 years ofservice in a materials handling appli-cation, says Block, the stack may berebuilt once or twice. The capability

to remanufacture (rather than replace)stacks is a feature unique to Nuverasproprietary technology, he says.

Several factors must be consideredwhen engineering a fuel cell pack toreplace the battery of an electric lifttruck, according to Block. In addi-tion to an exhaust-fed humidity sys-tem, water filter and air pump, thepack must meet the minimum weightrequirement specified by the truck sup-plier. Fuel cell packs therefore containan appropriate amount of ballast.

Then there is the hydrogen, which isstored at 5,000 psi in fuel tanks enclosedin the power pack tray. There are a num-ber of ways to get hydrogen on-site, saysBlock, each of which will impact the

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Fuel cell technology: How it works

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carbon footprint of a fuel cell opera-tion. It can be trucked in as a liquid orgas, or can be generated on-site from anelectrolyzer, or from a steam methanereformer (SMR). The scale of the needwill partly determine the best option.From a carbon emissions standpoint, on-site generation from natural gas is typi-cally the best option.

If youre concerned about fossil fuel,then a battery is about your worst choice,because about half of the nations elec-tricity comes from coal, says Block.Not only is natural gas clean, its widelyavailable, there are tremendous reserves,and the prices are good.

Hydrogen supplied by on-site SMRgenerators will produce about 33%fewer emissions than electricity fromthe grid, says Block, citing a recentstudy by Argonne National Lab. A near

zero-emissions fuel cell fleet can beachieved if renewable sources are usedfor the energy feedstocks.

How it works in the warehouse

Until fully integrated lift trucks areoffered, hydrogen fuel cells replace thebattery used by electric lift trucks. Thehydrogen fuel cell remains in the lifttruck and is refueled at a refueling sta-tion that can be installed at any locationin a warehouse and connected to theoutdoor hydrogen generation station.The freedom to position multiple refu-eling stations inside a facility is a keycomponent of efficiency and productiv-

ity gains afforded by a fuel cell system.As compared to batteries, says Simon,fuel cells require less travel distanceto a central battery station, they needfewer refueling events, and the time

for each fueling could be cut from 18minutes for a battery swap as little as 2minutes to fully fill a hydrogen reserve.

Once the fuel tank is full, it willperform at a consistent power outputuntil the hydrogen is depleted, muchlike an internal combustion lift truck. Itwill not gradually lose performance likebatteries do as the charge weakens. Butunlike any IC truck, a fuel cell will notrelease any toxic emissions.

It really does change the game forair quality, says Devlin. With fuelcells, youre greener and youre cleaner.Devlin goes on to suggest that althoughthe initial outlay is significant, the main-

tenance and repair costs for fuel cell sys-tems could be quite a bit less than anIC engine.

Hydrogen is sold by the kilogram, forabout 8 to 12 dollars, and a kilogramwill last 6 to 12 hours depending onwhether youre using a reach truck or apallet jack, says Devlin.

Who wants fuel cells

Current fuel cell offerings are suitedto aggressive, multi-shift fleets of 15 or

more trucks. The infrastructure costswill be better justified in a full-buildinginstallation as opposed to a partial fleetapproach, says Devlin. At this point,cost is a key obstacle to more wide-spread adoption of fuel cell systems,and the technology seems stuck in aCatch 22; it needs wider adoption tolower the cost, but it needs to lower thecost to stimulate adoption.

Fuel cells have a couple of percentof the lift truck market share, and will

probably never completely supplant the[battery] electric market until thereare more affordable options for smalleroperations, says Devlin. As we goforward, fuel cell solutions will be lesscustomized and more off-the-shelf, butthat could take five to seven years.

Aside from fluctuations in electricityprices and potential improvements tothe cost of hydrogen capturing, federalincentives will be key to fully realizingthe potential of fuel cells.

The government is a huge part of

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Fuel cells in action at UNFI

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the equation at this point, saysKenro Okamoto, electric prod-uct planning specialist for ToyotaMaterial Handling. Fuel cellinfrastructure is much less attrac-tive without those incentives.

However, even with sufficientfederal support, the future of fuelcells is unclear. Okamoto says thelimitations of batteries were a keydriver in the movement of fuelcell technology from the labs tothe field.

Our customers have beenlooking for a way around thoselimitations, says Kenro. Fuel

cell technology is an answer.But Okamoto says it is equallylikely that advances in batterytechnology could make fuel cellsobsolete. Who knows? saysOkamoto. Its kind of a wait andsee situation.

Cesar Jimenez, national prod-uct planning manager for Toyota,says the uncertainty puts com-panies like his in a tough place.Its difficult for an equipment

manufacturer to make a solutionfor a market that hasnt reallytaken off yet, he says. Thetechnology is essentially in a beta test.

Although fuel cells only make up1% or 2% of the lift truck market, someof those customers include big players.

Walmart, FedEx and Coca-Cola have

begun dabbling in fuel cell lift trucks,says Jensen. Just a few years ago, therewere only one or two fleets of more than30 lift trucks that had installed hydrogenfuel cells. Now, he says, there are morethan 10.

Some of its just traditional,he says. Youve got a paradigm and

youre not ready to shift it. But forthose customers who have come offthe fence, to them its very real and tous its very real. M

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MMH1104 Supp WDCFuelCells

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