Surat-based Waaree ESS, in association with Action Construction Equipment (ACE) Ltd, has designed, developed, and supplied 23kWh lithium battery for 3-tonne forklift applications. These forklifts equipped with Waaree lithium batteries have now been deployed at Chennai airport and operating for 12 hours per day.

An electric forklift by ACE Ltd

ACE has bagged an order for 28 numbers of these 3T capacity Li-ion battery forklifts with five years maintenance contract from Airport Cargo, Chennai. 

As per the company statement, the deployment of Lithium batteries has added value to ACE forklifts. The entire operation is through the Internet of Things (IoT) enabled smart battery management systems with CAN Bus Communication, which has added to the system’s operating life. 

Further, Waaree ESS lithium batteries’ long lifecycles have increased the forklifts’ daily duty hours compared to the conventional lead-acid batteries, bringing in more value for the money spent.

Chetan Gole, Vice President of ACE Ltd, said, “The technology offers virtually maintenance-free batteries, rapid charging/opportunity charging feature, offers longer working cycles and charging during free time to give maximum productivity. Also, it helps avoid the hassles of frequent change of batteries for longer operating cycles. This is relatively a clean and user-friendly technology.”

The high density of Waaree ESS lithium batteries has also helped reduce the weight of forklifts, in turn improving the operational energy efficiency of the entire system. The IOT Battery Management System with ‘on the Air’ features dynamically manages the battery parameters and life management, which is not possible with the conventional lead-acid technology. 

Waaree has in-house research and development expertise on various lithium battery technologies, including lithium ferro phosphate and lithium nickel manganese.