Linde wins major lithium-ion order and unveils fuel-cell powered Roadster

In the company’s most recent tender, the BLG fleet managers were therefore looking for potential savings – and found them in Linde Material Handling’s lithium-ion technology, a complete system comprising vehicle, battery and charger. The availability of trucks can be significantly increased by regular intermediate charging of the lithium-ion batteries, which eliminates the need for battery changes. In addition, the energy yield is up to 30% better than that of lead-acid batteries. Instead of a central replacement area, in the future there will be decentralised chargers near the workstations. Thus, even short breaks can be put to good use for supplying the trucks with fresh energy.

Fuel-cell Roadster

With its Roadster concept, Linde Material Handling has set completely new standards in terms of visibility and safety for industrial trucks. The company is now addingfuel cell drive to the advantages of this design.

“Our customers are looking for economical energy solutions and more and more often the CO2 footprint is playing a decisive role in this context,” says Markus Weinberger, international product manager energy solutions at Linde Material Handling: “Our sales consultants can offer them a wide range of possible energy solutions, from electric drives with lead-acid or lithium-ion batteries to fuel cell powered vehicles or combustion engine drives using diesel, LPG or natural gas. The best solution always depends on the local conditions.”

For two decades now, Linde Material Handling has been working on the development of series-production industrial trucks with fuel cells. “In 1997, we were ahead of the game, focusing intensively on this promising technology, and production of the first trucks started in 2010,” says Weinberger. “Today, the Linde brand offers the largest range of fuel cell-powered industrial trucks on the market. Around 80 percent of our models can be ordered with this promising energy option. These include pallet trucks, tow tractors and reach trucks as well as counterbalanced trucks including the Roadster model.”