Toyota trials hydrogen powered forklifts

Toyota Material Handling Australia (TMHA) has put the company’s first hydrogen fuel cell-powered forklifts outside of Japan to the test at Toyota Motor Corporation Australia's parts centre located at its former manufacturing plant at Altona, Victoria.

The Toyota hydrogen fuel cell (FC) forklift trials were held alongside Toyota’s Mirai fuel cell electric vehicle's (FCEV), which share the same hydrogen-powered technology.

The Toyota hydrogen FC forklifts feature a 2500kg lift capacity.

Instead of burning petrol or diesel for power, the vehicles use pressurised hydrogen which is fed into a fuel cell stack where it is combined with oxygen to create a chemical reaction. That then produces electricity to drive various motors for motive power or hydraulic power for steering, braking or lifting loads.

TMHA General Manager for Corporate Compliance and Project Development, Bob Walmsley, said it takes only around three minutes for the hydrogen FC forklifts tanks to fill, compared with around eight hours for a conventional battery to recharge.

"This means we can use these forklifts more often, without having to significantly wait between charges or use second-shift batteries to achieve the same utilisation," Walmsley said.

Toyota's mobile hydrogen fuelling station installed on a Hino 700 Series truck fuelled the FC forklifts and Mirai during the trials.

TMHA president and CEO, Steve Takacs, said the Toyota hydrogen FC forklift fleet is an example of the great synergy that Toyota’s material handling division and its automotive arm share.

"In much the same way, Toyota's range of forklift products are researched and developed using Toyota's advanced manufacturing technologies - and built to the same exacting standards of quality, durability and reliability as Toyota's automotive vehicles - our engineers collaborate across the Toyota Group to incorporate the latest technologies acquired from our automotive sector,” Takacs said.

"We at TMHA are committed to constantly developing new and better technologies that raise the bar in terms of safety, performance, efficiency and sustainability, which will ultimately benefit our customers.

“These hydrogen FC forklifts are a clear demonstration of our commitment to the environment through the adoption of new and sustainable technologies. They have excellent environmental credentials as they do not emit carbon dioxide or substances of concern (SOCs) during operation.”

The hydrogen FC forklifts will be trialled next at Toyota's newest and largest Parts Centre warehouse at Kemps Creek, New South Wales.

At this point, however, the Toyota hydrogen FC forklifts and Mirai are not for sale in Australia mainly due to a lack of hydrogen refuelling infrastructure.