The Linde Material Handling Group (Fenwick-Linde in France) has announced that it is now producing green hydrogen to power the 21 fuel cell-powered forklift trucks at its German plant in Aschaffenburg. "We have identified hydrogen as a possible option for our future energy mix. In fact, in the intralogistics sector, in addition to its impact on carbon neutrality, the major advantage of hydrogen is that it enables handling trucks to be refueled quickly for intensive use. A refuelling time of three minutes offers a charging power of around 480 kW", explains Aurélia Doffenies, Product and Services Marketing Manager at FenwickLinde.
Nearly 2.8 million euros were invested in the planning and construction of the hydrogen production infrastructure, which took 12 months to set up. Located within the manufacturing and assembly plant, it occupies an area of 280 m2. "Eventually, our customers will also benefit from our experience in planning, building and operating the plant, as well as from the use of fuel cell forklifts in future projects," emphasizes A. Doffenies.
In 2000, Fenwick-Linde developed the first prototype fuel cell forklift. These have been part of the company's series production since 2010, and today 80% of the range can be ordered in hydrogen version.
