There's something about a brand new lift truck that makes you want to get on it.

Ask the president of the United States. The folks at Crown and Graf Tech did all they could to keep President Bush from getting too hands-on with the fuel-cell-powered pallet truck at Graf Tech’s headquarters in Parma, Ohio, during his recent visit.

For the materials handling world, this was the photo-op of photo-ops: to have this country’s chief executive getting up-close and personal with what we’re all about. For at least a few minutes, the international spotlight was shining on lift trucks, with a special focus on fuel cells. That’s because the work being done with fuel-cell-equipped lift trucks will help make the case for this technology in a broader context—possibly as a viable alternative to foreign oil some day.

That scenario is at least a decade or two down the road. In the meantime, chief executives in industry are paying much closer attention to fuel cells than our nation’s CEO did for a few minutes that day in Ohio. According to Tim Quellhorst, Crown’s vice president of engineering, the application of fuel cells for materials handling applications will become a boardroom-level agenda item.

“The decision to go to fuel cells will very likely be driven at the senior-management level within many companies,” he told me. “It’s a major change for the customer, and when you face that kind of risk all the key management players need to be a part of the outcome. Within some companies this shift will require a significant strategic push.”

He put this in perspective for me. Imagine if you were to completely replace your battery handling equipment and convert your entire fleet to fuel cells—with all the fueling infrastructure changes necessary. What if six months later your operating costs increase while you’re experiencing higher truck downtime? This would create serious issues for most companies.

There is a case to be made, don’t get me wrong. The compelling reason for many lift truck fleet managers is eliminating the need to change lead acid batteries—and freeing up the time and space that task requires. That alone gives the electric lift truck market more motivation to consider fuel cells than most other markets have today.

If what I’m hearing from some fuel cell researchers is true, this conversion is likely to happen before our eyes—maybe even under our noses. It may not happen on a fleet-by-fleet basis, but vehicle by vehicle as users retire older trucks and start experimenting with fuel cells. The technology may melt into the materials handling industry rather than make a grand entrance. Likewise, suppliers will filter fuel cell capable models into their lines gradually, beginning with the lower end products first.

Ken Alfred, executive director of the Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition, put it very nicely when he told me why fuel cells will make their way into our lives: because the technology doesn’t need government subsidies to justify its use.

“It will be a while before we see carbon trading markets develop,” he told me. “In the meantime it would behoove lift truck fleet managers to start understanding their energy costs and how their operations might find value with this type of application. Understanding that today puts you in a much better position to start talking to the lift truck manufacturers who are looking at providing these products.”