BY TOBY GOOLEY, SENIOR EDITOR
BATTERIES AND CHARGERS
THE FIRST LITHIUM-ION BATTERY-POWERED LIFT
truck made its debut in Japan in 2008. Pallet jacks and
automated guided vehicles (AGVs) powered by lithium-ion
batteries have been scooting around European DCs for a
few years now. But here in North America, we’re a little late
to the party. Interest in lithium-ion batteries and battery
management systems may be high, but sales remain slow.
Proponents of this energy-dense, highly efficient power
source say that’s about to change. For the past couple
of years, manufacturers and designers of batteries, chargers, and lift trucks have been testing lithium-ion (li-ion,
for short) batteries, and some are now commercially available here. While it’s generally agreed that li-ion batteries
are very promising for material handling applications,
how much of the market they’ll eventually capture is far
from certain.
KUDOS …
One reason for the growing interest in li-ion batteries is
that they have a very high energy density—about triple the
capacity of a similar lead-acid battery, says Arlan Purdy,
product manager of energy storage systems for lift truck
manufacturer The Raymond Corp. They’re also attractive
because they do not require any watering and give off no
gases, he says. And, unlike some other alternative power
sources, he adds, lithium-ion batteries “have a little bit of a
convenience factor because they use the same electric grid
that people are used to”; in other words, the charging process will already be familiar to operators.
Lithium-ion batteries are much smaller and lighter than
their lead-acid counterparts—perhaps lithium-ion’s great-
est appeal, notes Mark Tomaszewski, manager, emerging
technologies, for the battery maker EnerSys.
In addition, li-ion batteries can be opportunity-charged
during operator breaks without adversely affecting battery life, have much longer run times than their lead-acid
counterparts, and can be charged quickly, says Steve Dues,
vice president at lift truck maker Crown Equipment Corp.
That means there is no need to swap out batteries during a
shift—or to remove a battery at all, even in a 24/7 operation.
How fast can li-ion batteries be charged? Much depends
on the particular chemistry of the material inside, but
Trineuron, a Belgian supplier of batteries for AGVs, among
other applications, claims that the nano lithium-tita-nate-oxide technology it has adapted from the energy-stor-age and automotive markets allows for a full recharge in less
than nine minutes, and that total time on charge for AGVs
with any type of li-ion battery typically is less than one
hour a day. On its website, the company cites the example of a Belgian food distributor that put 30 Jungheinrich
AGVs with li-ion batteries to work in a new warehouse
and projects savings of 1 million euros (approximately
US$1.1 million) due to shorter charging times and lower
electricity costs.
Food and beverage distributors as well as grocery indus-
try players are particularly interested in li-ion batteries
materialhandlingupdate
Interest in lithium-ion batteries for material
handling equipment is growing. Will they
be limited to niche applications, or could
they eventually replace lead-acid batteries?
The allure of
lithium-ion
