Coca-Cola Incorporated has purchased, received and are using 37 Plug Power GenDrive fuel cell powered Caterpillar lift trucks at their 250,000 square foot facility in San Leandro, California.
This is their second such commercial order. The first was at the Charlotte, NC production center in 2009 where they purchased 40 such vehicles. To add to their commitment to hydrogen cars, Coca-Cola has also leased a Nissan X-Trail FCV.
At the San Leandro plant the decision was made to replace a fleet of lead acid battery powered lift trucks for several reasons. First, Coca-Cola could reduce their carbon footprint by 15-percent by doing so. The second reason is, “…electrical consumption will be reduced by an estimated 1.6 million kwh/year.”
And the final reason is that because of the vast needs of electric lift trucks, maintenance and recharging infrastructure, the Coca-Cola facility in San Leandro will recover more than 2,000 square feet of facility space.
Like I’ve stated before, hydrogen powered forklifts and palette trucks are the first commercial production hydrogen vehicles of record for a reason. They have longer run times, save employee man hours, require less infrastructure, lower the carbon footprint and increase floor space. Is that enough reasons to switch to hydrogen?
and where will they get their hydrogen from hmmm? Hydrogen doesn’t just magically appear from thin air when you wish for it.