The rise of fuel cell vehicles has not started with the car market as many had predicted. The number of hydrogen powered forklifts has surged in the marketplace over the past 3 years. And now, Plug Power wants to put their fuel cells into a couple other types of vehicles as well.
According to Bloomberg, “Forklifts for the $20 billion material-handling market were never Chief Executive Officer Andrew Marsh’s ultimate goal. The ambition is to create an industrial ecosystem powered by fuel cells — with forklifts as the first product to generate enough revenue to support the company …
“…Current trucks use cooling systems powered by diesel generators, which often must run even when the vehicles are parked. That can be a problem because some cities have noise ordinances aimed at restricting idling trucks.
“Plug is working with the largest North American food distributor, Sysco Corp., and other existing customers and plans to demonstrate the systems this year … Plug is also developing fuel cells to power the vehicles that haul luggage, move planes and provide other support services at airports.”
So, there you have it. We may not be at the planes, trains and automobiles phase yet. But, every fuel cell vehicle counts and helps us drive into a cleaner, greener future.