"Our sales consultants can draw on a very wide range of possible energy solutions: from electric drives with lead-acid or lithium-ion batteries to fuel cell devices and internal combustion engine drives with diesel, propellant gas or natural gas as fuel. The best solution always depends on the conditions on site," says Markus Weinberger, International Product Manager Energy Solutions at Linde Material Handling.

80 percent of models are available with fuel cells
Linde Material Handling has been working on the development of production-ready industrial trucks with fuel cells for two decades. "Today, the Linde brand has the largest range of industrial trucks with fuel cell drives on the market," says Weinberger. "Around 80 percent of all models can be ordered with this promising energy variant. These include low-platform trucks, tow tractors or reach trucks as well as counterbalance trucks, including the Roadster model."

With the Roadster, Linde points to a well thought-out vehicle layout that is designed to ensure optimum visibility of the route and load. The elimination of the usual A-pillar, which could be dispensed with thanks to the power detour via overhead tilt cylinders and the overhead guard frame, makes a significant contribution to this. The Roadster versions of the Linde E20 to E35 electric forklift trucks are therefore particularly suitable for logistics and industrial plants with heavy passenger traffic. The operator can also perform precision work such as storing in containers more easily thanks to the significantly larger field of vision.

Energy generation through chemical reaction
"Because the Roadster shows its strengths above all indoors, the combination with fuel cell technology seemed ideal to us," says Weinberger, explaining the expansion of the portfolio. After all, the energy system does not produce any emissions during operation. Energy is generated through the chemical reaction of oxygen and hydrogen. The electricity generated in this way feeds a lithium-ion battery, which in turn supplies the traction and lifting motors; at the same time, the accumulator serves as a buffer for recovered braking energy and as a "power reserve" during power peaks. The only by-products of the process are heat and pure water. The latter is pumped out when refueling with hydrogen.

Keyword refueling: A complete refueling process only takes three minutes. This ensures maximum availability - especially in tough multi-shift operations. As the simple, quick and clean refueling process makes battery changes obsolete, this makes the fuel cell Roadster ideal for use in hygiene-critical sectors such as the pharmaceutical and food industries.

Of course, the economic efficiency factor also plays a decisive role. Markus Weinberger: "Our investigations and practical tests show that fuel cell systems can be economically viable from a deployment of around 20 vehicles. If the company already has its own hydrogen infrastructure, as hydrogen is needed in production anyway, the concept becomes even more economically attractive." as