We bring you a first for the Green Overdrive show: we test drive a fuel cell fork lift! Recently we visited Oorja, a fuel cell startup in Fremont, Calif., which makes methanol fuel cells that are being used as extra power for fork lifts in factories. OK, so factory workers aren’t going to be as goofy as me, driving this one around the parking lot at Oorja’s HQ in our latest video, but you get the picture of how these things work and can extend battery range for industrial vehicles.
Green Overdrive: We drive a fuel cell fork lift!
Summary:
We bring you a first for the Green Overdrive show: we test drive a fuel cell fork lift!
This is a great foot in the door for fuel cell technology. I remember in my youth having to keep plugging those things into a charger so you weren’t stuck in the middle of unloading a truck with a dead battery. Same thing could be applied to the electric lifts that all the maintenance folks use.
Are there any calculations of how efficient this method of consuming ethanol, converting to electricity and then driving electric motors is? As compared to an ethanol powered reciprocating engine? It may have a strong showing in areas of slow, high torque usage like industrial lifts.
How much does it cost and at what temperature does it run?