Forklift Battery Hydrogen Gas Detector - Modern Material Handling Hydrogen Sensor and Monitoring System Lead-acid storage batteries emit hydrogen gas while discharging and recharging. Hydrogen concentrations of 4% to 75% by volume in air are potentially explosive. Batteries produce hydrogen as a natural part of charging, and it’s actually a pretty simple process to understand. When you connect your forklift battery to an active charger, electrical current passes into the flooded battery cells. This influx of energy reverses the chemical reactions of the discharge process.
The rise in popularity of electric forklifts in conjunction with continued environmental concerns surround greenhouse gas emissions and availability of natural resources has led to manufacturers researching and designing a new type of forklift powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
This week’s blog and discusses some of the advantages of hydrogen powered forklifts.
Advantages of hydrogen powered forklifts include:
Better forklift performance
Current lead acid powered forklifts performance degrades over the course of a shift as battery power is drained the voltage supplied to the unit reduces.
With its ability to provide constant voltage to the forklift until the fuel tank is fully emptied allows hydrogen powered forklifts to provide better overall performance per tank of fuel and across longer shifts.
Battery changes are no longer necessary
Current battery electric forklifts run times are governed by the storage capacity of the unit battery,
Forklifts that are required to operate over an extended shift may require a mid-shift battery change to ensure the unit is able to operate until the end of the prescribed shift.
Whilst undertaking the battery change both the forklift and its operator are removed from operations leading to a downturn in productivity and efficiency.
This can have a large overall impact on operations if multiple battery changes are required at the same time removing multiple forklifts and operators from operations for an extended period of time.
Hydrogen forklifts can be quickly and efficiently refueled from a bowser system very similar how we fill up vehicles at a service station currently.
Refueling of hydrogen forklifts can take as little as three minutes compared to up to 20 minutes for current lead acid batteries.
Companies may also experience capital equipment cost savings as battery charging equipment and battery lifting equipment such as cranes will not need to be purchased and installed within the facility.
Removal of battery and combustion engine issues
Hydrogen Forklifts Amazon
Switching to hydrogen powered forklifts removes a number of health and environmental issues associated with current battery and combustion engine forklifts.
Issues include but aren’t limited to:
- Chemicals
- Off-gasing
- Emissions
Combustion engine forklifts in particular produce chemicals and emissions when operating, in large amounts and in enclosed workspaces such as warehouses chemical and emission build ups can have long-term detrimental impacts on worker health.
Current forklift batteries must be degassed as part of the battery charging process, again without the correct ventilation of the battery charging area or room this build-up of degassing fumes can be detrimental to worker health.
Hydrogen forklifts remove the health risks associated with chemicals and off-gassing through the removal of the need to charge batteries.
Hydrogen Forklift Explosion
Any emissions from hydrogen forklifts do not contain the dangerous mixture of chemicals and gases of combustion forklifts as they are emitted as water vapour or heat by products.
Reduced environmental impact
A positive flow on effect from the aforementioned reduced chemical and off-gassing emissions is a reduction in a company’s negative environmental impacts.
Hydrogen powered forklifts produce significantly less harmful emissions compared to current forklifts powered by LPG, diesel and batteries.
Reduced reliance on energy providers
To operate current forklifts operators are reliant on an energy provider to charge them for operations whether it is an LPG or diesel refiner and supplier or electricity company to provide mains electricity to charge batteries.
Adopting hydrogen powered forklifts allows operators independence from these providers.
Hydrogen fuel can be stored on site long-term reducing reliance on energy providers for operations to continue in the event of fuel shortage or long-term electricity outage.
Reclaim warehouse space
Depending on the size of forklift fleet being operated and how many battery chargers are installed to keep units running across long shift (particularly for 24/7 operations) a large amount of floor space within a facility may need to be dedicated to a battery room fitted with all the necessary charging and changeover equipment.
Important storage space may be tied up in the battery room that could be better utilised for the storage of products.
Hydrogen storage and refuelling equipment have a much smaller footprint and will occupy less vital storage space.
Hydrogen Forklift Explosion
To find out how your business can benefit from utilising hydrogen forklift contact us on 13 22 54 or email us.
Hydrogen Forklift Manufacturers
Reference List
- Nuvera.com. 2016. 6 Value Drivers For Fuel Cells In Materials Handling. [online] Available at:
Toyota Forklifts Leading Hydrogen Charge
Hydrogen Forklifts
Toyota Material Handling Australia (TMHA) has put the first Toyota hydrogen fuel cell-poweredforklifts outside of Japan into action during trials at Toyota Motor Corporation Australia's parts centre located at its former manufacturing plant at Altona, Victoria.
The zero co2-emission Toyota hydrogen fuel cell (FC) forklift demonstration is an extension of Toyota's simultaneous trial for its Mirai fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV), which share the same hydrogen-powered technology.
The Toyota hydrogen FC forklifts with a nominal rating of 2,500kg lift capacity will also be featuring in the official opening of the new Toyota Parts Centre in Western Sydney's Kemps Creek.
Toyota hydrogen FC vehicles take pressurised hydrogen which is fed into a fuel cell stack, where it is combined with oxygen to create a chemical reaction that produces electricity to drive various motors depending on demand for motive power or hydraulic power for steering, braking or lifting loads.
Toyota hydrogen fuel cell (FC) forklifts will be especially suitable for logistic and warehouse operations given they can be conveniently refuelled in just a few minutes, offering obvious productivity efficiencies.
Toyota Material Handling Australia General Manager - Corporate Compliance and Project Development, Bob Walmsley, said the hydrogen FC forklifts take around three minutes to fill the hydrogen tank compared with around eight hours to recharge a conventional battery. 'This means we can use these forklifts more often, without having to significantly wait between charges or use second-shift batteries to achieve the same utilisation,' said Mr Walmsley.
TMHA president and CEO, Steve Takacs, said the Toyota hydrogen FC forklifts are another example of the synergies available to Toyota Material Handling Australia from Toyota's automotive arm.
'In much the same way Toyota's range of forklift products are researched and developed using Toyota's advanced manufacturing technologies - and built to the same exacting standards of quality, durability and reliability as Toyota's automotive vehicles - our engineers collaborate across the Toyota Group to incorporate the latest technologies acquired from our automotive sector,' said Mr Takacs.
'We at TMHA are committed to constantly developing new and better technologies that raise the bar in terms of safety, performance, efficiency and sustainability, which will ultimately benefit our customers. 'These hydrogen FC forklifts are a clear demonstration of our commitment to the environment through the adoption of new and sustainable technologies. They have excellent environmental credentials as they do not emit co2 or substances of concern (SOCs) during operation.
The hydrogen FC forklifts will also be trialled at Toyota's newest and largest Parts Centre warehouse at Kemps Creek, New South Wales.
The Toyota hydrogen FC forklifts and Mirai are not for sale in Australia mainly due to a lack of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure.
Toyota's mobile hydrogen fuelling station installed on a Hino 700 Series truck fuelled the FC forklifts and Mirai during the trials.