Germany is a car country. It's no surprise that most people think of their cars when they think of mobility. But mobility is much more than individual locomotion. Areas such as aviation, shipping, heavy-duty transport and intralogistics, i.e. forklifts and industrial tractors, are also included. And just as in individual mobility, a transformation of drive technology is also taking place in all other areas.

This is also the case in intralogistics. For decades, diesel technology was the preferred drive for forklifts. In recent years, the battery has gradually established itself in intralogistics. But if the experts are to be believed, electromobility will remain a bridging technology in intralogistics. The future belongs to the hydrogen-powered fuel cell. We at GLOBE Fuel Cell Systems believe in this.

About GLOBE Fuel Cell Systems

GLOBE Fuel Cell Systems is a GreenTech company from Stuttgart. We have made it our business to support the industry on the way of decarbonization into a CO2 neutral future with green technology - Made in Germany.

GLOBE has its origins in fuel cell research and the innovation department of Mercedes-Benz. A few years ago, the founders submitted their idea of developing fuel cell systems for intralogistics and emergency power generators to an internal Mercedes-Benz ideas competition. As a result, they were released to work on a prototype in the Lab1886 innovation area. In December 2020, they quit their jobs at Mercedes-Benz, founded GLOBE Fuel Cell Systems and were allowed to take the prototype with them to the new company.

Today, GLOBE has a 35-person team working on industrial applications for fuel cell technology. In addition to marine and automotive applications, together with industry partners, GLOBE has designed a fuel cell unit for intralogistics - the GLOBE XLP80.

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Fuel cell technology for intralogistics

The McKinsey study "Fuel Cell forklifts market perspective" predicts that as early as 2027, almost every furth forklift truck in Europe will be powered by a fuel cell unit.

The McKinsey study "Fuel Cell forklifts market perspective" predicts that as early as 2027, nearly one in four forklifts in Europe will be powered by a fuel cell unit.

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Why? Because fuel cell technology is superior to electric mobility in intralogistics in almost all areas.

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1. Increase in productivity

In terms of electromobility in intralogistics, we currently distinguish between two battery technologies. Lead-acid batteries, the dominant drive type in intralogistics, and the more modern lithium-ion batteries.

Both battery types are characterized by long recharging times. In the case of lead-acid batteries, several hours; in the case of lithium-ion batteries, short charging cycles of 45 minutes are possible. However, after several short charging times, a long charging cycle of several hours must always be scheduled. This can lead to the fact that at least two batteries have to be purchased for a forklift in multi-shift operations in order to ensure continuous operation.

A fuel cell system can be refueled with hydrogen in about 3 minutes and can then be used immediately. Consequently, there is no need for hours of battery charging. This reduces the downtime of intralogistics vehicles, minimizes their number and increases the flexibility of the overall system.

2. Power

Unlike conventional lead-acid batteries, which show a drop in performance from a charge level of less than 50%, a fuel cell system delivers continuously constant power. As a result, the performance of the trucks decreases, which is a significant disadvantage in operation, especially for load profiles with peak loads, such as in the beverage industry.

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3. Running times

A conventional lead-acid battery has an average runtime of approximately 6,000-7,000 working hours. Depending on environmental factors and load profile in operation. For lithium-ion batteries, this value increases to approximately 13,000-14,000 hours. Modern fuel cell systems, such as the GLOBE XLP80, are designed to operate for at least 20,000 working hours.

4. Space requirements

Due to the long charging times of batteries, the systems, in the case of forklift fleets in multi-shift operation, have to be replaced. For this reason, logistics companies or industrial companies have set up battery exchange stations or entire exchange halls. In addition, employees must be assigned for the exchange process. In the case of fuel cell systems, personnel costs and swap halls are eliminated, allowing more space on the company premises for the customer's own value-added processes. Personal injury and/or vehicle damage during battery replacement are prevented as well.

5. Heavy metal goes digital

In addition to the technical advantages of the fuel cell, every GLOBE XLP80 system has an integrated GLOBE "DataCore". This enables online transmission of various performance and sensor data to the cloud. The data obtained in this way ensures optimized operation and high availability of the systems, since, for example, maintenance scopes can be anticipated in advance. Furthermore, in the future the system can be optimized to the needs of the respective customer and possible CO2 savings can be better utilized. There area few providers that have similar functionalities.

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6. Infrastructure

If several lithium-ion batteries are charged in parallel during fast charging, this leads to significant current peaks. This is a particular challenge for large industrial operations with hundreds of forklifts. Afterall, you need an improved energy infrastructure for this. But even converting to a hydrogen-powered intralogistics fleet first requires investment (CAPEX) in a hydrogen infrastructure. Here, there are different solutions, depending on the requirements. The offers range from hydrogen bundles, for companies with smaller fleets, to a complete hydrogen tank system for logistics or industrial companies with large fleets. To make the most of such refueling facilities, companies often build them on the perimeter of their premises. This means that refueling stations can be used not only within the company, but also by external consumers. This leads to positive effects in the overall balance of investment costs. Take the BMW plant in Leipzig, for example. The site has a total of five hydrogen filling stations to supply the more than 130 fuel cell-powered industrial trucks. This is the largest fleet of its kind in Germany. In addition, BMW in Leipzig is the first automotive plant in the world to use a newly developed burner technology in its paint shop that can use green hydrogen as well as natural gas. By 2024, the plant will even be connected to the pipeline from Leuna in order to be supplied directly with green hydrogen.

If several lithium-ion batteries are charged in parallel during fast charging, significant electricity peaks can occur. Especially large industrial companies with hundreds of forklifts face this challenge. After all, they need an improved energy infrastructure for this. But even converting to a hydrogen-powered intralogistics fleet first requires investment (CAPEX) in a hydrogen infrastructure. Here, there are different solutions, depending on the requirements. The offers range from hydrogen bundles, for companies with smaller fleets, to a complete hydrogen tank system for logistics or industrial companies with large fleets. To make the most of such refueling facilities, companies often build them on the perimeter of their premises. This means that refueling stations can be used not only internally, but also by external consumers, which has a positive effect on the overall balance of investment costs. Take the BMW plant in Leipzig, for example. The site has a total of five hydrogen filling stations to supply more than 130 fuel cell-powered industrial trucks. This is the largest fleet of its kind in Germany. In addition, BMW in Leipzig is the first automotive plant in the world to use a newly developed burner technology in its paint shop that can use green hydrogen as well as natural gas. By 2024, the plant will even be connected to the pipeline from Leuna in order to be supplied directly with green hydrogen.

Conclusion

Hydrogen-powered fuel cell systems are the future of intralogistics. Not only for the area of new vehicles. Fuel cell systems, such as the GLOBE XLP80 which corresponds in size and weight to the standard trough size of a 5 PzS775Ah battery, also serve as a retrofit solution to easily convert existing fleets. Only ventilation slots still have to be drawn into the battery cover of the trucks.

Yes, building a hydrogen infrastructure means additional investment for users. But the advantages, compared to battery technology, are so significant that the total cost of ownership is positive, depending on the size and use of the fleet. The manufacturers of intralogistics vehicles are also aware of this. The R&D initiatives in the field of fuel cell technology bear witness to this.

Global initiatives to produce green hydrogen, such as in Chile, Brazil and Canada, will result in further decreasing hydrogen costs.

Thus, fuel cell technology is ecologically necessary and economically viable.

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