ITM Power Jumping Headfirst into EU Fuel Cell Forklift Market

It’s no secret that the market for fuel cell forklifts and other materials handling units have been red hot for the past 2 years in the USA. Several thousand units have been either deployed or ordered over that time period.

Knowing this, British company ITM Power wants to get in on the emerging European Union fuel cell forklift marketplace and is partnering with Infintium Fuel Cell Systems, Inc. to do just that.

The Infintium fuel cell has just met CE certification which means it meets “consumer safety, health and environmental requirements” in the EU.

According to the ITM Power press release, “Currently, the United States is by far the world leader in fuel cell-powered forklift deployments, with more than 3,000 fuel cell forklifts either deployed or on order as of the end of 2011. ITM Power can now offer a full turnkey solution to the materials handling sector, including on-site hydrogen generation, refueling and fuel cell systems.

“The successful trials of the Company’s HFuel product platform, together with measured operational benefits of fuel cell powered materials handling vehicles, has seen ITM Power engage with a growing number of potential retail, distribution and logistics customers. The Company can provide a tailored, integrated solution – including modeling, on-site trials, supply of equipment and maintenance contracts. HFuel is capable of generating up to 400kg of hydrogen per day, on-site, from renewable power.”

The advantages of fuel cell forklifts and other materials handling units have already been proven on U. S. soil. Compared to battery-electric forklifts which take hours to recharge, fuel cell forklifts take 5 minutes to refuel, can run for a 8-hour shift before needing to be refueled again, provide more power and continuous operation (battery electric forklifts fade over time).

So with ITM Power providing a full turnkey solution including fuel cell forklifts and warehouse refueling infrastructure, their outlook in the emerging European Union marketplace is muy caliente.