Nissan to deploy methanol fuel cells
Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 9/1/2009
Nissan North America (NNA) has become the first vehicle manufacturer to commercially deploy methanol fuel cells to power materials handling equipment at its Smyrna, Tenn., assembly plant. The methanol fuel cells from Oorja Protonics (www.oorjaprotonics.com), OorjaPac, provide a more energy-efficient and cost-effective battery-charging process for the 60 tuggers that are used to transport thousands of vehicle parts throughout the 5.4 million-square-foot facility.
"Nissan is constantly looking at the impact our business activities have on the environment, and at the same time, how we can become more efficient," said Mark Sorgi, manager of materials handling. "The fuel cells that are fueled by methanol are helping us in both areas by reducing our CO2 emissions and better utilizing our resources."
By using OorjaPac, Nissan is able to get rid of more than 70 electric battery chargers that were consuming almost 540,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. This will reduce Nissan's electric bill and eliminate more than 300 tons of CO2 emissions that were being released into the atmosphere.
Nissan's Smyrna plant has seen its energy efficiency improve by as much as 32% since it began aggressively pursing environmental initiatives in 2005. These energy-saving practices are currently saving the company more than $3.5 million per year. As an Energy Star partner, Nissan is committed to improving the energy efficiency of its business and protecting the environment for future generations. Sorgi estimates that alone translates into an annual savings of $225,000.
Also, if NNA had continued with the old tugger battery charging process into next year, it would have had to purchase more batteries at a cost of $300,000. Fuel cells help them avoid that extra cost. But why methanol?
"We looked at other fuel sources and for us methanol was best because it's widely available and low cost," Sorgi said. "We get it in liquid form so it's easy for us to handle."
Methanol is an alternative liquid transportation fuel that is derived from various sources including wood, grass, landfills, natural gas and coal. Nissan is retrofitting the 60 tugs with methanol fuel cells that are easily, quickly and safely filled with methanol by the technicians who drive them. The fuel cell provides a constant charge that puts less strain on the tugs electrical system, increasing the life of the battery and other electrical parts.
"The methanol fuel cells have made us more productive by saving us almost 35 hours a day that were spent by employees changing out batteries," said Sorgi. "There's no changing out of low or dead batteries, which involves a battery technician and 15 to 20 minutes. Now the tug driver can refill the fuel cell in less than 1 minute and they're on their way."
Since no batteries are exchanged and the drivers refuel the tugs themselves, some battery technicians have been moved to other value-added positions in the plant, better utilizing Nissan personnel. Also, the time saved by not having to change batteries has created a more efficient operation, allowing Nissan to reassign four materials handlers.
"When volume picks up again in this industry, we'll be delivering more parts to the line," said Sorgi. "Battery changeout took us about 15 minutes for each battery. Using a methanol fuel cell, we're refueling in 60 seconds. Our productivity will increase with the increased volume we're delivering."
The methanol fuel cells proved to be a worthwhile investment for Nissan after an 18-month trial period in the Smyrna plant.
"We are excited to take our relationship with Nissan to the next level, and proud to play such a pivotal role in Nissan's environmental initiatives," said Sanjiv Malhotra, founder and CEO of Oorja Protonics. "Our OorjaPac system gives Nissan the opportunity to increase productivity and realize a strong return on investment."
Malhotra added that methanol is almost a tenth of the cost of hydrogen, and because it's liquid, it doesn't have to be compressed for storage. He also said it has a smaller carbon footprint from a production standpoint.
Sorgi told Modern he expects his plant's achievements will be used as a benchmark for other Nissan plants to emulate. His team is also studying the cost justification potential of methanol fuel cells for the plant's forklifts. Although many automotive assembly plants want to go forklift-free on the production line, he said there will always be a need for forklifts in their other operations.
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