SINTEF creates 30 demonstration forklifts powered with hydrogen fuel cells. The group will test ten of the trucks in a Norwegian harbor. (Photo courtesy of SINTEF’s site)Technology development group SINTEF has built 30 hydrogen fuel cell-powered forklift trucks set for performance testing in Norway.

Ten of the 30 trucks will be delivered to and scheduled for use in Risavika, a harbor located outside the country’s petroleum capital, Stavanger.

The group claimed that a forklift truck fitted with fuel cells is capable of reducing carbon-dioxide emissions equivalent to eight private cars.

The trucks are scheduled to operate daily in the harbor on two eight-hour shifts. They have been designed to carry heavy loads.

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The trucks’ power system has been developed in line with a joint effort run by the European Union.

SINTEF’s representative Møller-Holst fronted the forklifts’ benefits being powered with the fitted alternative energy source.

“A hydrogen-driven forklift truck running on fuel cells combines the advantages of diesel and battery-driven vehicles. The hydrogen-based technology means rapid refueling, just like diesel, while it is also energy-efficient and every bit as environmentally friendly as a battery truck,” Mr. Holst said.

The forklift trucks were fitted with a miniature fuel-cell power station under its bodywork. It will be providing the power needed to run the forklifts’ electric motor. Danish company H2 Logic AS was in charge of developing the trucks’ fuel-cell technology. The solution is a development of a fuel cell that the company had created.

The group will perform laboratory tests exploring the amount of fuel cell performance falls over time. At the same time, SINTEF will systematize and analyze feedback from the trials of the 30 demonstration trucks.

The knowledge gained in the process will be used to improve the control system and optimize the trucks’ operation, which will ensure the fuel cell’s life-cycle to meet the commercial requirements in the market.

SINTEF Group claims to be Scandinavia’s largest independent research organization. The group’s aim is to generate knowledge and solutions based on research and development in technology, the natural sciences, medicine and the social sciences intended for the benefit of Norway’s society. (A.N.P. Cabrera)