Hydrogen at Work: BMW's Substances Mover Previews Hydrogen Fueled Future
But in some businesses, hydrogen is already the fuel of choice.
BMW has 230 hydrogen powered forklifts, stackers, and tuggers (tractors) in daily use during its sprawling Spartanburg, SC, manufacturing plant. We delivered a trainload of components to-the assembly line using a standup - control substances mover, to analyze these hydrogen innovators.
Driving a tugger may be the absolute most fun you might have at 3 to 6 mph. Even with a train of parts in tow, there is an M section - - whenever you toggle the accelerator built into the steering yoke fashion surge. You need to press another button, to attain the complete 6 miles per hour. That is fast enough if you are restrained solely by your fortune, behind - pillow friction, and traction. This may be the Nimitz class of Segway scooters.
The black box in front of your knees is really a Plug Power GenDrive consisting of the fuel cell, which generates electricity to its particular hydrogen fuel tank, and power the tugger. You rock the toggle back, to stop. Backing up a train is forbidden because doing this can snap the couplers, though a bobtail tugger could be pushed in reverse.
Based on market businesses head Duncan Seaman, hydrogen fuel cells overcome conventional lead acid batteries in employee well-being, and price, sustainability. Batteries lose energy as they fire, and replacing them in the center of a shift takes 20 minutes. Each tank of hydrogen continues a total shift, plus a refill takes just two minutes. A tank of liquid hydrogen supplies 14 in plant fueling stations.
And a job is under way to find out if hydrogen created from that flow could be cleansed adequately for use within the plant's materials handling gear. Weekly liquid hydrogen tanker visits will not be needed, if the experiment works.
Eventually, it'll make the leap from making BMWs to powering them.
2013 BMW Manufacturing in Spartanburg expands hydrogen fuel cell fleet
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