In a presentation on 17th October, Willem Nieuwland, Big Truck Programme Leader for Hyster Europe, will discuss “Alternative energy sources for mobile plant equipment” as part of the event’s focus on Green Technological R&D. His presentation will include an update on the technology of the electrification of big trucks and continue the debate about fuel cells, charging and power supply in port operations. “A standard diesel driven Top Loader uses about 16 litres of diesel per hour, which could equate to 128,000kg of CO2 emissions per truck every year*, so zero emissions is expected to be an important focus for the future,” says Willem. “By electrifying ports and their equipment, Hyster® trucks have the potential to contribute to a better environment within ports.”
Two different zero emissions Hyster® trucks are currently in development. A battery powered container handler is being tested to meet the needs of well-structured applications with lighter duty cycles, alongside a version with a fuel cell range extender, which is intended for those that require more flexibility or have a heavy duty 24/7 operation. “Regardless of whether an operation will need to charge batteries or refuel their container handler with hydrogen, there may be challenges to overcome in order to realise optimal infrastructure,” explains Willem.
For instance, the impact of battery charging depends on the on-site availability of the right amount of electric power. It is possible that in some cases, there might not be enough to power all the container handlers required. However, if suitable power is available, Hyster Europe expects that it will be possible to implement technology to charge the container handler battery in as little as one hour. This will be particularly important for efficiency, as battery capacity will not be sufficient for one day of operation so charging must be planned during the container handler’s normal daily operation. Hydrogen availability may also be a major consideration for those keen to use the fuel cell range extender version of the truck.
“Globally, there are several projects taking place which could give lots of end users easy access to hydrogen fuel,” says Willem. “The transition to renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, is leading to the local storage of energy and giving a boost to the production and storage of hydrogen.” The truck with an on-board fuel cell expects to offer adequate storage space for one typical day of operation, so hydrogen tanks will only need to be refilled daily. Filling time will be similar to a diesel tank so is expected to have no, or minor, impact on the planned usage of the container handler. “Our research has shown that efficiency is also key for any electric vehicle when it comes to productivity and the Total Cost of Ownership,” says Willem. “That is why along with brake energy recovery, these trucks also recover energy during lowering of the container.”
The zero emissions Hyster® container handlers can recover up to 64% of the potential energy during lowering. This results in up to 5% less energy consumption in typical duty cycles, compared to the same truck without the hydraulic energy recovery system. The total energy saving including brake energy recovery could go up to as much as 15% in normal operation. “The electrification of port equipment is going to happen, and soon,” says Willem. “However, it is important that our industry continues to talk about alternative energy sources. Only by working together can we standardise battery charging and hydrogen infrastructure in a way that makes ‘electric’ vehicles easy for port and terminal applications to adopt.” *With a conversion number of 2.63kg CO2 per litre of diesel, this leads to an emission of 42.7 kg CO2 per hour. On a yearly basis (3000 hrs), this is 128,000kg CO2 per truck.