According to the report, if the forklift testing is successful, a single vehicle operating two, eight-hour shifts would offset CO2 emissions equal to that of eight gasoline powered cars.

SINTEF is analyzing the test vehicles to see how much fuel cell performance drops over time, a very real concern for those in the warehouse industry who put equipment through demanding work hours at a time. The data gathered will be used to optimize the forklift’s power system in order to meet suggested requirement necessary for the commercial market.

So far, motor specifications and performance details of the hydrogen fuel cell vehicle have not been released. But, we’ll continue to keep an eye on the progress as a successful trial in Europe may mean U.S. manufacturers will need to upgrade their models or risk being left behind.