LiftOne and Engineered Solutions, divisions of Carolina Tractor, unveiled two hydrogen-powered fuel cell lift trucks. The lift trucks are equipped with HyPX Fuel Cell Power Packs manufactured by Hydrogenics and installed by LiftOne in Linde Materials Handling of Summerville, S.C. electric lift trucks. The first of six two-week evaluations will begin this week at Michelin’s Columbia plant.
Michelin is the first customer to receive the new units to test their performance and their capabilities. “The promise of hydrogen-powered equipment has long been a dream of many of our customers looking to find more environmentally-friendly ways of doing business,” said LiftOne General Manager, Bill Ryan.
Since 1995, Hydrogenics has been developing and commercializing hydrogen and fuel cell technologies and is a world leader in emerging clean energy industry. Material handling and back-up power for data centers and telecom are the two key markets Hydrogenics is focusing.
"This demonstration project shows how successful collaborations within South Carolina continue to grow our state's knowledge economy," said Bill Mahoney, SCRA CEO and SC Launch acting president. "The joint efforts of the USC Columbia Fuel Cell Collaborative, SC Launch!, Hydrogenics, and Lift One are delivering economic opportunities to the Midlands and to the entire state through greater awareness of the operational and financial advantages of alternative energy applications."
The Greater Columbia Fuel Cell Challenge is funding and sponsoring the hydrogen fuel cell project. The Challenge is a collaborative effort between the City of Columbia, the University of South Carolina, EngenuitySC and the South Carolina Research Authority. Their goal is to accelerate the deployment and adoption of a wide array of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies within the Midlands region of South Carolina.
The Challenge has awarded ten projects and was launched in the summer of 2006. The Hydrogenics-LiftOne project in the most ambitious initiative among the projects to date rewarded by the Challenge. They have created an all South Carolina effort by working together with Columbia-based agencies and bringing Linde in the fold.
"Fuel cells offer clean, high-performance power to these customers," said Troy Garrison, the Manager of this project for LiftOne, the first distributor to do so in the country. "There are also other real and compelling cost- effective reasons for looking at this technology, too."
The rest of the fuel cell lift truck deployments are expected to rollout and continue throughout the fall.
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SOURCE Fuel Cell Challenge
Nicole Camiola
New Equipment Digest
Online Content Editor