The first reach truck in Germany with a fuel cell drive is being tested at BASF Coatings AG in Münster. The other partners in the project are Hoppecke (fuel cell system developer and integrator), Linde Gas (hydrogen fuelling station) and the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, as part of the “progres.nrw” funding program
This means that two different trucks with the future oriented drive will be operating at BASF Coatings in an industrial application: A Still FM-X 20 reach truck and an R 60-25 electric truck. The FM-X 20 reach truck delivers finished goods for despatch at the BASF Coatings distribution centre and the R 60 moves manufacturing raw materials from the logistics warehouse to the production. The two trucks are refuelled at the hydrogen fuelling station built on the site.
With this project, Still is the first intralogistics company with experience in operating fuel cell driven tractors, electric fork lift trucks and reach trucks. Hamburg based Still GmbH has been involved with fuel cells as an alternative to conventional batteries since 2003. Since then Still has been able to gather experience in various projects using this future oriented technology. HHLA Logistics have been operating a Still R 60-25 fuel cell truck in a test operation at the port of Hamburg since 2008 and since the end of 2006 two Still R 07-25 fuel cell tractors have been transporting baggage at Hamburg airport.
Fuel cell technology will become economically interesting when the production costs for the fuel cell package drop further. Savings are also generated in multi-shift operation because no replacement traction batteries would need to be held.
