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ahead, saying it expects Nuvera to
generate “significant operating losses” before it can “fully commercialize the technology and achieve
break-even results.” The company
also said it expects to spend as much
as $50 million over the next two to
three years for research and development, and to commercialize the
technology.
THE OUTLOOK
Clearly, hydrogen fuel cells have
many advantages and disadvantag-
es, and opinions differ on their
near-term outlook where lift
truck applications are concerned.
Raymond’s Purdy, for one, believes
market share will remain at around
2 to 5 percent. “We don’t see that
structurally changing until the ROI
has been figured out,” he says. If
automakers expand the market for
hydrogen-fueled vehicles, he adds,
then infrastructure costs may drop
and hydrogen could become more
common in forklifts.
Lift truck makers say they will
be well prepared if that day comes.
“From what I see, interest [in alternative fuels] has been increasing—
so much, in fact, that forklift manufacturers are now creating positions
to support these new technologies,”
says Toyota’s Carlin. “I would
expect that over the next five years,
testing will continue, and as people become more confident in the
overall benefits of the newer technologies, [they] will be embraced
as a major alternative to lead-acid.”
But until manufacturers overcome hydrogen’s drawbacks, says
Dues of Crown, lead-acid batteries will remain the dominant energy source for electric lift trucks.
“Alternative power sources,” he
says, “will gain market share as they
prove they can solve customer problems at a competitive price.” ;
for batteries are not set up to ‘listen’ to that
kind of communication.”
Yet another criticism is that the whole
system—cells, deliveries, fueling stations,
storage, and so forth—is too time-consuming and expensive for users to manage.
Each element may have a different vendor,
which adds complexity. Create a one-stop
package, the thinking goes, and more forklift fleets will be willing to take the plunge.
Plug Power, which is not profitable,
believes that approach will overcome some
potential users’ objections and will accelerate adoption. Based on customer feedback,
it recently created a turnkey service called
GenKey, which includes its GenFuel fueling infrastructure, GenDrive fuel cells, and
GenCare aftermarket products and services. The company also has a distribution
agreement with Praxair to provide liquid
hydrogen to GenFuel installations. “We’ve
taken it from what customers perceive as
a complicated transaction in which they
may be dealing with three providers to one
where they can now come to one expert in
all three of these areas,” Marsh explains.
“We’ve made it seamless for customers to
buy, and that’s had a great deal of impact
on our growth.” Marsh appears to have hit
on something: The company shipped 857
GenDrive units to material handling customers in the third quarter of 2014, up from
just 155 units in the third quarter of 2013.
NACCO Materials Handling Group Inc.
(NMHG) appears to be heading in a similar direction. The wholly owned subsidiary of Hyster-Yale Materials Handling
Inc. announced in December that it had
acquired Nuvera Fuel Cells Inc., a manufacturer of hydrogen fuel cells and hydrogen generation and dispensing products.
(For details, see the news article in this
issue.) NMHG’s Hyster and Yale operating
divisions plan to integrate and factory-fit
fuel cell technology directly into many of
their lift truck models. The company said
the acquisition would allow Hyster and
Yale to also provide hydrogen generation
and refueling capabilities, while retrofitting
and servicing would be provided through
Nuvera-authorized dealers.
The Nuvera deal represents a vote of
confidence in the future of a technology
that has struggled to gain market share.
Still, NMHG acknowledges the tough road
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