With the sale of diesel and gas-powered vehicles set to end in 2030, Pam Oakes of Nexen Lift Trucks suggests that businesses should be looking to upgrade lift trucks and warehouse equipment fleets now.
Nine years may seem a long way off to some. But early adopters moving from internal combustion engine and lead-acid batteries to the latest lithium-ion (Li-ion) technology for their lift trucks will reap the rewards by lowering maintenance and fuel costs and reducing their carbon footprint and impact on the environment.
Nexen Lift Trucks is well-known for embracing the latest materials handling technology and manufacturing lift trucks that innovate. Lithium-ion batteries are available as an option across the company’s range of electric counterbalance fork trucks, warehouse reach trucks and pedestrian stackers.
Li-ion is a technology that offers exceptional performance compared with lead-acid alternatives and, by being more energy efficient and quicker to recharge, can reduce the total cost of ownership for lift truck owners and operators.
By harnessing Li-ion technology, Nexen’s electric-powered lift trucks now far exceed the daily operational life of traditional lead-acid vehicles. Thanks to rapid charge cycles, the latest warehouse equipment requires just one battery that, with the correct shift patterns in place, is capable of being used round the clock.
This reduction in the number of batteries required per truck also negates the need for large charging facilities and storage areas, which frees space for additional warehousing and in turn further reduces the total cost of ownership. Lift truck operators become more productive because a Li-ion recharge can usually be accommodated during operator and shift breaks, with less time spent switching spent lead-acid batteries out for recharged ones.
The latest Li-ion batteries are maintenance-free, don’t require filling, gassing or ventilation, and there are no pollutants escaping to the atmosphere and harming the environment or your workforce. They are more efficient to recharge, with an approximate 15% reduction in electricity required for recharging.
Li-ion-powered equipment can provide an impressive 500%+ more cycles compared with lead-acid alternatives, with lead-acid batteries achieving approximately 1,500 cycles and Li-ion batteries typically over 10,000. And then there’s battery degradation to consider. The capacity of lead-acid batteries is liable to degrade by as much 32% during the course of their lifetime, even if they are charged and maintained correctly, while Li-ion suffers significantly less degradation and requires no maintenance.
It is therefore no surprise that, despite a cost disadvantage compared with ICE, lead-acid and other battery-powered solutions, Li-ion power is becoming more important to those specifying lift trucks. This is especially so in the recent pandemic-focused world where online shopping and the need for 24-hour rapid warehousing techniques have increased exponentially.
The high-duty cycles associated with traditional ICE applications mean electric vehicles have to provide similar levels of performance and productivity. Nexen’s trucks are designed from scratch so that the technology is built into its electric-powered models, to provide an unprecedented combination of performance, productivity and cost effectiveness, without having to compromise on operator comfort and safety.
Extensive research during Nexen’s design process ensures its warehousing solutions provide class-leading performance. For example, its ranges of 3- and 4-wheel counterbalanced electric forklifts feature regenerative braking to increase battery life and improve energy efficiency. They offer lifting capacities from 800kg to 5,000kg and include long- and short-wheelbase formats to provide solutions for numerous indoor and outdoor lifting applications. The company also boasts a range of electric pallet trucks and pedestrian pallet trucks with Li-ion batteries available as an option and lifting capabilities from 1,200 to 2,500kg.
T: +44 (0)1502 532211 E: info@nexenlifttrucks.com
W: www.nexenlifttrucks.com.