High performing lead-acid battery

The company explains: “Exide’s GNB Tensor is an advanced lead battery that was designed and conceived with warehouse productivity in mind. It offers extended operational life, fast recharging capabilities, exceptional power and energy density, and excellent performance in cold storage environments. It also excels in multi-shift operations. The result is a battery with very low total cost of ownership, often outperforming lithium-ion for a wide range of applications.”

The traditional rule of thumb is that 1.5-2 batteries are required over the lifetime of a vehicle, but Exide says Tensor can achieve better. A Tensor battery recently lasted more than six years in a 1.4t moving mast reach truck working in a two-shift, heavy-duty application at a logistics company in Germany. It outlasted the truck it was powering, says the firm.

The standard for Tensor batteries is more than 10,000 operating hours. The battery is designed to go the distance in real-world applications – in fact, the record so far is a battery that clocked in 14,000 operating hours. In some markets, such as Germany, Exide already offers a guarantee that Tensor will last up to 60 months or 10,000 operating hours, whichever comes first.

Exide has a range of battery options, from lead-acid to lithium-ion, so it can offer independent, considered advice on the best option for your operations.

Tensor came out on top in a recent extensive analysis of total cost of ownership for a business with 33 trucks running three shifts a day. The first option being considered by Exide and the customer was to run the trucks on lithium-ion technology. This would have meant acquiring one battery per forklift and charging them during workers' breaks. Opportunity charging was insufficient for full back-to-back shifts on current breaks, and so some downtime would have been needed – impairing productivity.

After careful analysis, the most cost-effective option proved to be Tensor. This meant acquiring two batteries per forklift, 66 in total. Each Tensor battery powers a full 8-hour shift, during which time the other can be charged. A Tensor battery can fully charge in 5 hours, thanks to Exide's proprietary Z-profile charging algorithm.

For more information, visit www.exidegroup.com