Clark Material Handling has introduced the "Virtual-Counterweight" system for its GEX 25 series 2.5-ton lithium-ion electric forklifts. A fundamental challenge in electric forklift design is the physical counterweight. A heavier counterweight provides stability but increases tire wear, energy consumption, and ground pressure. Lighter counterweights improve efficiency but risk forward tip-overs during hard turns with heavy loads.
The Virtual-Counterweight system replaces the traditional single fixed rear drive axle with "Dual Independent Rear Wheel Motors." The engineering breakthrough is the "Electronic Yaw Moment Generation." When the operator turns the steering wheel, instead of both rear wheels driving at the same speed, the controller applies a higher rotational speed to the outside wheel and a lower speed (or slight regenerative braking) to the inside wheel.
This creates a rotational torque (yaw moment) around the forklift's vertical axis, physically pushing the rear of the truck around the turn. Because the truck is being actively "spun" by the wheels rather than dragged by the front steer tires, the physical counterweight can be reduced by 15% while maintaining the same residual capacity. Furthermore, the system features "Traction-Vector Stabilization." If the forklift is cornering with a heavy load and the system detects a loss of traction on the outside rear wheel (via the motor speed differential), it instantly transfers torque to the inside wheel, pulling the truck straight and preventing a spin-out. This dual-motor architecture reduces tire replacement costs by 35% and extends battery runtime by 18% compared to single-motor equivalents.
