108 Hydrogen Fuel Cell Forklifts Delivered in China

Hangcha Group, the second largest forklift producer in China, announced it has delivered 108 hydrogen fuel cell forklifts to a client, making it the largest fullfilled order in China so far.

This 3.5 ton forklift is jointly developed by JUST Power, a fuel cell system innovator specialized in solid-state hydrogen storage solutions.

The event may signify the beginning of mass deployments of hydrogen fuel cell forklifts in China, which has been expected by industry experts for many years.

Compared with diesel forklifts, hydrogen powered forklifts can significantly reduce GHG emissions and improve air quality at the site. And the hydrogen forklifts also have advantages over Li-ion battery ones in scenarios of cold-chain warehouses and freezer facilities as they can keep performance in roughly −30°C to +40°C without major range loss while batteries can lose 20–50% of capacity in cold storage, which either shortens runtime or forces oversizing.

The pilot scale operation of hydrogen fuel cell forklift in China began in 2022 when several fleets comprising 6-10 forklifts were established. Due to the high CAPEX nature of dedicated hydrogen supply facilities, we could imagine this small scale hydrogen forklifts fleet would hardly have any cost competitiveness. However, with such a large scale deployment, affordable solid-state hydrogen storage solutions, and cheap hydrogen fuel supply (by-product hydrogen from adjacent chemical or refinery complex), its economic viability might be verified.