Procter Gamble chooses Plug Power fuel cells

Plug Power, a leader in providing clean, reliable energy solutions, today announced that Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G) has selected its GenDrive fuel cell products to power lift trucks at three P&G manufacturing facilities across the United States. Plug Power will supply P&G facilities in California, Louisiana and North Carolina with more than 200 GenDrive fuel cell units combined for its electric lift truck fleet, helping to drive down operating costs and improve process efficiencies.

Plug Power’s GenDrive fuel cell products directly address lead-acid battery degradation and operating efficiency issues. Over a shift, lead-acid batteries quickly lose charge, resulting in decreased lift truck performance. Plug Power GenDrive fuel cells provide material handling facilities with a constant and reliable power source, ensuring that lift trucks run at full speed for the entire work period. On average, GenDrive customers increase productivity by up to 15 percent and lower operational costs by up to 30 percent.

GenDrive fuel cells are powered by hydrogen and can be re-fueled in two to three minutes - minimizing down time for the truck and its operator. Lead-acid batteries need to be changed, charged, stored and maintained, a process that is timely, involves costly infrastructure, occupies valuable floor space and taxes an already inefficient electric grid.

Finally, because GenDrive is fueled by hydrogen, only heat and water are generated as byproducts of electricity creation. P&G estimates greenhouse gas emission reductions of up to 60 percent.

“Plug Power’s GenDrive product is delivering increased fleet productivity, decreased facility operating costs and reduced greenhouse gas emissions at customer sites throughout North America,” said Andy Marsh, CEO at Plug Power. “By deploying GenDrive fuel cell products at multiple facilities, P&G will lessen its environmental impact while realizing increased productivity, reduced operating costs and better predictability of its fleet performance.”