Lift trucks—not wheeled Hindenburgs

There’s been a lot of debate about when and whether fuel cell-powered lift trucks will become standard equipment in plants and distribution centers. I thought I heard every possible objection from the con-side of the debate, but the possibility that a forklift could explode like the Hindenburg was a new one.

Ken Holloway, who works for Safety Specialists, Inc., experts on the shipment of hazardous materials and dangerous goods, e-mailed me the other day asking if there has been any discussion in the industrial truck world about the logistics of getting fuel cell products to market. He said he’s working with a client on transportation requirements for fuel cells, and there’s still a lot of fear and ignorance surrounding the use of these products.

“A big problem now with the hydrogen fuel cells is that everyone thinks they will explode,” he told me. He also noted that fuel cells with flammable, corrosive or other hazardous properties were added to the US & International Dangerous Goods Regulations this year so he wanted to know how this issue was being addressed in the lift truck world.

First, let’s begin with how current DOT regs define fuel cells and fuel cell systems. These definitions come from the Hazardous Materials Regulations (49 CFR 171.8):

Fuel cell means an electrochemical device that converts the energy of the chemical reaction between a fuel, such as hydrogen or hydrogen rich gases, alcohols, or hydrocarbons, and an oxidant, such as air or oxygen, to direct current (d.c.) power, heat, and other reaction products.

Fuel cell cartridge or fuel cartridge means an article that stores fuel for discharge into the fuel cell through a valve(s) that controls the discharge of fuel into the fuel cell.

Fuel cell system means a fuel cell with an installed fuel cell cartridge together with wiring, valves, and other attachments that connect the fuel cell or cartridge to the device it powers. The fuel cell or cartridge may be so constructed that it forms an integral part of the device or may be removed and connected manually to the device.

Holloway advises anyone selling or buying fuel-cell technology for forklift applications to do as much research about getting the equipment to market as they did when deciding to use it in the first place.

“If you are shipping a truck with a hydrogen fuel cell in it you’ll have to go back to the fuel cell provisions of the hazardous materials regulation,” he said. “It can’t be shipped as a regular forklift. When you close down a warehouse in Kansas City and want to ship the fork truck to St. Louis, you can’t ship the same way you did your battery powered ones. It will not fit under section 173.220 of the DOT regs because there’s no provision for fuel cells. You’ll probably have to go back to the fuel cell items which will be more restrictive.

Just to close the loop on this issue, I asked Steve Medwin, advanced research manager for The Raymond Corp., if the shipment of fuel-cell-equipped lift trucks is becoming a logistics challenge. Coincidentally, it was a challenge he had to deal with recently in arranging to move some units to another site.

“The problem is, what do you do with the hydrogen in the tank,” he said. “You don’t want the tank to be empty because then it can get contaminated, so you need some positive pressure in the hydrogen tank, but where does it cross the line being hazardous? I’m not sure we came to a satisfactory conclusion.”

I’m not sure I did either. I’ll keep looking into it, but in the meantime, if there’s anyone reading this who’d like to weigh in, be my guest.

–Tom Andel
tandel4315@aol.com