President Bush gets a load of fuel-cell-powered materials handling

President George W. Bush got a demo of a fuel cell powered lift truck while touring the GrafTech International facility in Parma, Ohio.

By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 7/11/2007

President Bush (left) is given a demonstration of a fuel-cell-equipped Crown model PE end-controlled rider pallet truck by Craig Shular, GrafTech chief executive officer (right) and James Schloemer, product development engineer for Crown.

President George W. Bush got a demo of a fuel cell powered lift truck while touring the GrafTech International facility yesterday in Parma, Ohio. GrafTech manufactures graphite material for the proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell power unit made by Cellex Power Products, a subsidiary of Plug Power

GrafTech chief executive officer Craig Shular said, "Our team's collaboration with Cellex and Crown has been crucial in gaining support for the early adaptation of what we believe represents a significant growth opportunity in fuel cell power generation."

Fuel cells offer an attractive value proposition within the $1.5 billion motive power market to operators of large warehouses, distribution centers and manufacturing facilities. With fleets that include hundreds of lift trucks, these operations can benefit from centralized maintenance and fueling infrastructures.

Adoption in the lift truck market is expected to pave the way for fuel cell developments in other markets and eventually contribute to the development of a hydrogen economy and increased energy independence.

The fuel cell power system President Bush saw was from Cellex Power and was used to power a Crown model PE end-controlled rider pallet truck. The Cellex fuel cell contains a fuel cell stack supplied by Ballard Power Systems of Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, which incorporates GrafTech's GRAFCELL material as a primary component.

"As a technology leader in the lift truck industry, Crown is actively participating in and supporting the development of alternative fuels that provide power savings for our customers," says Crown president Jim Dicke III. "Crown has been working closely with Cellex for many years to find the right balance of fuel cells, amount of fuel, weight requirements, and other factors to give lift truck customers the performance they expect."

"President Bush's visit marked an excellent opportunity to showcase how fuel cells can be used as an environmentally friendly alternative to batteries for material handling needs in warehouses and distribution centers,"; said Chris Reid, Cellex Power's president. "Supply chain partners such as GrafTech and Crown are vital in building a strong foundation for the widespread application of fuel cell systems."