EnerSys® has helped customers switch more than 5,000 forklifts from Internal Combustion (IC) to electric power since 2008,1 potentially saving them millions of dollars by eliminating the need for fuel. Offered exclusively by EnerSys, the Convert to ElectricSM program (C2ESM) is the material handling industry’s first and only program dedicated to helping forklift fleets convert from IC to electric-powered trucks.

There are numerous benefits of converting:

Significantly reduce fuel and operating costs: Electric forklifts deliver the lowest cost fleet compared to liquid propane, diesel, gasoline or fuel cells. Companies that convert from IC to electric forklifts reduce operating costs in three ways:
Fuel: Since 40 cents of electricity performs the same work as $2.50 of propane, customers annually save $6,300 on fuel per truck.2

Maintenance: With fewer parts to repair, electric forklifts cost up to 40 percent less to maintain.3  If using opportunity or fast charging, there’s no need to change batteries and no equipment to maintain. Today’s electric forklifts offer new intelligence capabilities like wireless monitoring devices to tell operators when batteries need charging, watering and equalization. Battery and charger systems also allow managers to track how each forklift and battery is performing. These systems record minute-by-minute energy throughput, providing detailed information to help managers improve overall fleet performance.

Operations: The C2ESM program features Zero Battery ChangeSM (ZBCSM) solutions from EnerSys®. These eliminate the need to change batteries and allow trucks to run all day on one battery. Drivers simply charge during regularly scheduled breaks. No battery room is required. With no tanks to change and no need to change batteries, companies can reduce labor costs by $75,000 annually.4  In addition, there is no need for racks or a central battery room, and battery inventory can be reduced by 50 percent or more.
No extra trucks, batteries, change equipment
Reduce greenhouse gas emissions: Using electricity to power forklifts results in the lowest well-to-wheel greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of any forklift fuel.5

Maintain or even increase forklift performance: Electric forklifts perform as well as IC trucks in critical performance metrics like right-angle stack, lift and travel speeds and turning radius. Because electric trucks work in a variety of conditions, climb ramps and cross uneven pavement, they are an excellent choice to replace indoor and outdoor IC forklifts.

Converting from Internal Combustion to Electric
Conversion is easy. When the forklift’s lease is up or it has met the end of its useful life, it can be replaced with a model engineered from the ground up to use electricity. As part of the C2ESM program, EnerSys specialists use advanced modeling to analyze the customer’s operations and energy usage and design a custom battery and charger solution that maximizes savings for current and future needs.

Battery and Charger Solutions                          

Opportunity Charging

Zero Battery ChangeSM (ZBCSM), often referred to as opportunity, rapid and fast charging, revolutionized electric forklift fleet management.

With ZBC, there is no need for spare battery storage, handling and changing equipment, freeing up valuable warehouse space. Productivity is improved and potential injuries are avoided, as forklift operators do not need to swap out heavy batteries.

Traditionally, forklift batteries are sized to allow for one daily cycle — defined as eight hours of work, eight hours of charging and eight hours of rest. PSoC allows a battery to be charged many times during a shift, allowing a battery to last one or more shifts.

The following batteries and chargers are ideal for opportunity charging applications:

IRONCLAD® batteries by EnerSys feature a square, tubular plate design that exposes more surface area to the electrolyte, delivering higher sustained voltages and work capacity than round or flat plate designs throughout the discharge cycle.

IRONCLAD Loadhog battery
The IRONCLAD® Loadhog® battery is a proven, high-performance battery delivering brute strength and staying power. Loadhog® batteries were the first to pack 100 amp-hours of capacity into a standard 85 amp-hour compartment. That's 18 percent more capacity than similarly sized conventional batteries — more than enough to keep running through the toughest shifts.
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As part of the IRONCLAD® battery line, the Loadhog® battery delivers higher voltage levels throughout discharge than standard flat plate or round tube battery designs. When installed in a DC forklift, the benefit of higher voltage is straightforward: faster drive and lift speeds. Higher amp-hour capacity ratings ensure the forklift runs long into the shift day, maximizing productivity.

In AC forklifts, the Loadhog® battery sustains consistent run and lift speeds until the battery reaches the maximum discharge level. This consistency is possible because the AC motor offsets a battery's normal voltage drop during discharge by drawing increasingly more amps. Because the Loadhog® battery sustains higher voltages throughout the shift, combined with its higher amp-hour capacity ratings, it will provide longer run times in an AC forklift compared to a flat plate or round tube battery design.

IRONCLAD Superhog battery
IRONCLAD® Superhog® batteries by EnerSys offer the industry’s highest capacity — up to 30 percent more run time than conventional batteries. They provide the fastest runs and quickest lifts for the most demanding industrial and warehousing applications. The supercharged Superhog® battery delivers consistently higher sustained voltages to maintain optimum travel speeds, lift quicker, and last longer into the shift, reducing heat and strain on the forklift’s electrical components.

Designed with IRONCLAD® square tubular plates, Superhog batteries provide increased work capacity and higher sustained voltages throughout the discharge cycle.