As growing concerns about greenhouse gas emissions ratchet up legislative pressure, the distribution industry looks harder at motive power issues, particularly for forklifts and HGVs. Yet the reluctance, for example, to move on from lead-acid batteries remains strong, while even hybrids that use a combination of diesel /electric drives sees an indefinite future for diesel. But the news on conventional diesel and electric trucks is not all disappointing for the environmental camp because leading lift truck companies like Linde continue to enhance their lift trucks’ engineering performance to cut fuel consumption.
A good example of this is Metafin Group Holdings’ switch to a fleet of five Linde 2 and 2.5 tonne capacity diesel trucks. The trucks’ hydrostatic transmission have no clutch, no mechanical differential and no torque converter, thus enabling them to operate at a lower rpm than conventional torque converter machines. When compared with Metafin’s previous fleet, the new Linde trucks showed a 40% fuel saving.
Developments in hybrids are also easing pressure to meet environmental targets as well as raise truck productivity. A good example at the heavy end of lifting is Konecranes’ prototype, diesel-electric drive line using super capacitors to provide a 300 Kw power boost for its 45-tonne capacity reach stackers in just a few seconds, helping to deliver fuel savings of 20-30%. By the nature of things, however, hybrids are more complicated to service and costly compared with mono-fuelled trucks so what are the prospects for adopting different, much cleaner, one-fuel trucks and are the days of lead-acid batteries numbered?
For over 10 years pundits have predicted the steady decline of lead-acid batteries as new batteries, like Li-ion, and fuels like the hydrogen cells, are adopted but the prophecies have not been fulfilled and new lead-acid battery developments could extend their acceptance even more. Cost and reliability in adverse operating conditions are too big obstacles for Li-ion, along with design limitations surrounding the counterweight that suit them mainly for pallet trucks. Moreover, issues surrounding the Boeing Dreamliners’ use of Li-ion batteries do not help.
What users of lead-acid battery-powered lift trucks look for are increased energy efficiency, while multi-shift heavy duty users needing two or three batteries per truck wish for a single battery operation. Recent improvements in charging technologies have allowed movement nearer to achieving that goal and we can expect more advances from thin-plate, pure lead batteries and batteries that combine copper plate and thin-tube technology that could see batteries still the power of choice in 20 years time.
Diesel, however, seems destined for long-term decline, as health issues and environmental concerns gather momentum. New developments in relation to HGV fuels, which have implications for forklifts, promise to hasten diesel’s demise. One such example is Gasrec, a pioneering British company that is developing a dual-fuelled solution based on a mixture of bio-gas from waste food and liquid natural gas. Leading retailers like Tesco, Sainsbury, and B & Q, along with logistics service giants, UPS and DHL, are already using it for their HGV fleets and Gasrec is currently building the UK’s first refuelling network, enabling its customers to access the fuel from multiple locations on the UK road network. Claimed benefits for the Gasrec fuel are impressive. These include a 25% cheaper fuel, up to 70% cut in CO2 emissions, and at least 85% for Nox. There is a 90% cut in particulates emissions, which add up to the company’s claim that environmentally speaking it is more advantageous than any other commercially available fuel.
Tesco reported a payback for converting its existing vehicles of just over two years.
Comments are closed.