Linde Material Handling presents truck with hydrogen combustion engine
Linde Material Handling will be presenting the world's first forklift truck with a direct-injection hydrogen combustion engine at CeMAT, the world's leading trade fair for intralogistics, from 27 to 31 May in Hanover, Germany.
The concept vehicle is ready for use and with a load capacity of 3 tons it is designed to be highly efficient and to reach its full power rating even when operated with hydrogen. The vehicle does not give off any emissions, as the hydrogen-powered engine turns the fuel into water vapour.
The compressor-charged direct-injection engine with 2.0 litre piston capacity and a 43 kW power rating (at 2600 RPM) manufactured by Volkswagen Industrial Engines cannot be seen from the outside. The hydrogen stored in the pressure pump is blown directly into the engine's combustion chamber, enabling the fuel to burn very efficiently. The compressor charging achieves high torques (160 Nm) at low rotational speeds (1000 RPM).
Hydrogen is currently considered to be the cleanest source of energy, as it predominantly emits water vapour when converted into electric energy. A further benefit is the sheer unlimited availability of hydrogen. If the hydrogen is produced using electrolysis with renewable energy sources such as hydraulic power, wind energy or photovoltaic then the vision of an emissionless energy cycle could become a reality.
Hydrogen vehicles will probably be introduced in the industrial trucks sector before the automotive industry, as this sector usually has fleets of vehicles and the infrastructural challenges would be simpler to overcome by means of a central filling station. For many gas producers and chemical companies hydrogen is a by-product, which would make it worth their while to use hydrogen-fuelled vehicles.
However, precisely when Linde Material Handling will launch its first hydrogen series product on the market has not yet been determined. Linde Material Handling believes that hydrogen-powered trucks could be economically viable from 2015. Until then, it will continue to conduct thorough research, develop further enhancements and complete the first truck field tests.
