All diesel forklift users would agree that cleaner exhaust emissions are desirable but they come at a higher cost which could either have adverse consequences for new diesel truck sales or see a switch to cleaner power sources like electric, LPG, CNG and, down the line, methanol fuels. Other alternatives, like the hydrogen fuel cell, were thought to offer promising potential but the fuel poses energy efficiency doubts allied to site supply problems and health and safety concerns over the refuelling process. Even developments of electric alternative batteries like nickel cadmium and Lithium-ion have met with problems. The former has reliability doubts while lithium, although now accepted in pallet trucks, poses design problems for counterbalance and reach trucks.

chazThe potential reason for concern over improved diesel emission forklifts is the latest EU regulation, Stage IV, which comes into force this year and is designed to reduce NOx exhaust emissions by 80% compared with the Stage IIIB standards they replace. Engines will also have to use ultra low sulphur diesel. These are challenging targets for the engine makers, who are using two main technology options to reduce NOx and PM to the required levels. and each has its good and bad points.

Engine makers who produced their engines before the market placement date specified in the legislation will have a two-year period in which they can still be sold so there will be plenty of compliant tucks when the new laws come into force. Moreover, the Stage IV regulations apply to new trucks only and so are not retrospective. The implication of all this is that if the new, cleaner engines incur high costs and/or reduced functionality in comparison with maintaining existing equipment, then operators will hang onto their existing trucks longer, which may or may not be a smart move given that older trucks cost more to maintain. Healthwise, that could be a serious issue for truck operators and others within their vicinity.

It is, of course, environmental and health concerns that are driving legislation to clean up all diesel vehicle emissions and understandably so. In the last week or so air pollution over much of Britain reached an all-time high, causing a sharp spike in breathing-related illnesses, so what should diesel forklift operators do to protect their employees in the absence of 100% effective emission controls? Even if fitted with catalytic converters and soot filters, no responsible food manufacturer would allow diesel trucks to work inside their production areas or warehouse, but what of the many other users who still use them internally? The case to restrict them to outside work only must now be unassailable on health grounds, unless the engine makers can produce truly squeaky clean trucks. Everybody in Britain, it seems, has his or her life shortened by six months owing to air pollution, while insurance company statistics show that those who live on the coasts of busy shipping lanes can expect to shorten their lives by up to 2.5 years owing to the highly toxic emissions from cargo ships. One may also like to spare a thought for China where air pollution is killing an estimated 1.2 million a year, forcing the wealthy to emigrate with all their wealth.

The LPG engine manufacturers try to make the case for using their trucks internally but while they are certainly cleaner than diesel they are not clear of noxious emissions so these, too, would be better confined to external work and the same must be said for CNG.

Environmentally, the obvious choice is electric but their downside is perceived to be the cost of acquiring a battery and charger, especially in multi-shift operations, and their relative weakness when lifting heavy loads and coping with gradients. However, battery technology and maintenance issues have improved to shift sentiment towards them. The cost, for example, of recharging a battery overnight on a low tariff is usually less than replacing gas bottles or filling a truck with diesel. Companies operating larger fleets of electric trucks can also benefit from battery management systems. These enhance the efficiency of the battery pool by allowing a forklift fleet’s battery usage to be monitored and controlled, thus cutting the lifetime costs of batteries and chargers.

The future, for the time being, is electric.

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