Fuel cells give food production more floor space
Food Production
A food producer with a mixed fleet of sit down counterbalanced trucks powered by lead acid batteries was utilizing battery swapping techniques to optimize uptime. When the Yale® dealer discussed the Nuvera® hydrogen solution for their application, the customer was impressed with hydrogen as an advanced fuel source but remained with the lead acid batteries as the fuel cells would not properly fit inside the battery compartments of their trucks at this time.
However, the customer recommended Nuvera to a sister facility that was planning an upcoming warehouse expansion. This facility had a fleet of 20 competitor trucks and currently powered them with lead acid batteries, but was interested in an alternative power source.
Challenge
The Yale® dealer met with the management team of the expanding facility. In this meeting, the customer explained that their two biggest battery pains were the amount of space reserved for charging stations and the loss in productivity during battery swapping that took place every shift. The Yale® dealer discussed how transitioning to hydrogen fuel cells would help alleviate these specific issues – reclaiming the space from the battery swapping stations and increasing productivity because hydrogen refueling can be done in as little as 3 minutes.
Solution
The customer decided to move forward with hydrogen and the Yale® dealer had 20 Nuvera fuel cells installed into the competitive trucks. The Yale® dealer was also able to provide the customer with a hydrogen source. Although the food processor traditionally purchased its equipment, the Yale® dealer recommended leasing their power, through a setup that included a hydrogen solution that included a regularly delivered fuel trailer and minimal infrastructure (piping into the building and a single dispenser).
Impact
By changing from lead acid batteries to hydrogen fuel cells, the customer’s productivity has greatly increased. The trucks now run at 100% power for the entire shift and no longer require time-consuming battery swaps. Additionally, the customer has reported improved worker morale as operators now feel empowered to be productive using the most efficient tools to do their job.
The customer also indicated that they will need to replace their current truck fleet and they intend to switch to Yale because of the partnership with Nuvera. This is just another example of Nuvera opening the door for future truck wins.
