Lead acid battery, lithium ion technology or fuel cell? To operate cost effectively, you need to determine the most appropriate energy system for your specific transportation process. This decision depends on many factors and therefore requires a high degree of experience. Internal logistics and energy experts from still, an internal logistics supplier headquartered in Hamburg, gave a comprehensive overview of different energy systems at the "energy" webinar, and explained the advantages and disadvantages of each system in a clear and practical way.
Lead acid battery, lithium ion technology or fuel cell? To operate cost effectively, you need to determine the most appropriate energy system for your specific transportation process. Energy is becoming a more and more important issue in internal logistics. The EU's goal is to achieve a climate neutral economy by 2050 - and Germany even wants to achieve it faster. This means that CO2 emissions must be avoided as much as possible or stored to the same extent as emissions. In order to achieve this goal, the European Commission and various countries are now implementing laws and regulations requiring everyone to make their own contribution. These include an increase in carbon dioxide taxes, expensive emission certificates and a complete ban on internal combustion engines. All vehicles will be forced to use electric drive by 2030 at the latest.
In addition, consumers are increasingly sensitive to the climate neutrality of services and products. For this reason, companies also increasingly want to ensure that their supply chain meets sustainability requirements. For example, the supplier must provide proof of the source of raw materials, production conditions and carbon dioxide footprint. Therefore, a good ecological balance table is increasingly becoming a competitive advantage.
Find the right energy system
Across Europe, one thing is right: energy is precious and becoming more and more precious, so energy consumption and use must be managed wisely. In internal logistics, we must first select the appropriate energy system for the drive of industrial trucks. The current choice is lead-acid battery, lithium-ion technology, or fuel cell system. But no matter which system you choose, this decision will have an impact. About the infrastructure of warehouse and production site, the selection of transportation system, operation cost and final investment scale. At yesterday's webinar, dyrk draenkow, product manager of energy systems, explained: "each of these energy systems has its own special functions and needs some preconditions when dealing with them."
Applicable standards
According to BJ ? RN gr ü NKE, product manager of energy systems, this leads to five criteria that can be used to determine the system best suited to their respective requirements: Vehicle availability, infrastructure aspects, procurement and operating costs, and sustainability. According to experts, the overall result of lead-acid battery in this analysis is quite mediocre. Although their performance in terms of vehicle availability is mediocre, they are not convincing in terms of infrastructure due to their high storage space requirements. On the other hand, they are among the best in terms of investment costs. Compared with all known energy systems, the purchase price of lead-acid batteries is very low, about 150 euros per kWh. However, this dividend is offset by the system, which is only the operating cost of medium efficiency. When it comes to sustainability, this energy system can only partially convince still experts. Dyrk draenkow said: "this technology has run out. No further development is expected to significantly shorten the charging time or improve the power density," adding: "however, if we ignore the limitations described, this type of battery will still be reliable and very reliable. A useful energy system in the coming years. It is especially suitable for users with only a few cars and only a few working hours." Dyrk draenkow said that no further significant reduction in charging time or higher power density is expected, adding: "however, if we ignore the limitations described, this type of battery will still be the next reliable and very useful energy system. For several years. It is especially suitable for users with few vehicles and less working hours." Dyrk draenkow said that no further significant reduction in charging time or higher power density is expected, adding: "however, if we ignore the limitations described, this type of battery will still be the next reliable and very useful energy system. For several years. It is especially suitable for users with few vehicles and less working hours."
Lithium ion technology
Lithium ion batteries can be temporarily charged at any time - and can be completed in a short time without damaging the battery or shortening its service life. This allows the vehicle to be used flexibly around the clock without replacing the battery: lithium ion technology ensures maximum availability even in multi shift operation. In terms of charging time: in most cases, experience tells us that charging for 1 hour means driving for up to 3 hours. In addition, the infrastructure requirements of this energy system are very low. In terms of investment costs, the situation is somewhat different: the purchase price of lithium-ion batteries is still higher than that of lead-acid batteries. It's about two to three times as big as it is. "However, the service life of lithium-ion batteries at the same capacity is at least twice that.
Fuel cell system
The special feature of this energy system is that power is generated in the car and no longer comes out of the socket. Dyrk draenkow: "when we talk about fuel cells in internal logistics, we are referring to the so-called battery replacement module. This corresponds to a specific battery cell in terms of size, weight and shape. This means that existing lead-acid or lithium-ion batteries can be replaced one-on-one with this module. All the components required for fuel cells are assembled in such a module." This includes the fuel cell itself, the so-called battery pack. These convert the energy stored in hydrogen into electrical energy. This energy is then used to charge the integrated lithium-ion battery. This is necessary to provide continuous power to the vehicle. Another part of the system is the high-pressure hydrogen tank, including fuel filler and other components. It is a multi in one system.
Since the system does not need charging but refueling, the charger or socket will not stop. After only 2-3 minutes at the hydrogen pump, the vehicle runs at full load again. This creates maximum flexibility in operating time and allows for demanding requirements and / or unlimited multi shift operations. Experience has shown that depending on the type and purpose of the vehicle, a full tank can be used for up to 8 hours.
However, the required hydrogen must be transported by tank truck. Or you can make yourself completely independent and use your own electrolytic cell to produce hydrogen on site. However, this requires additional power. If you want to ensure that no carbon dioxide is emitted in this process, you can produce "green" energy yourself: power generation through wind turbines or photovoltaic. Of course, this requires some effort, which is why fuel cell technology can only be rated as moderately appropriate in terms of infrastructure standards. On the investment cost: on the one hand, we must buy new "fuel cell ready" vehicles. On the other hand, the purchase of a suitable fuel cell system will incur costs. The current price of these batteries is 4-5 times that of lead-acid batteries. And creating the necessary infrastructure still requires high investment, so it is almost impossible to use fuel cells for vehicles at present. However, funding programs at the national and European levels are helping this business case become "green" in the future economy. Subsidies can be used for vehicle equipment and infrastructure. Dyrk draenkow said: "basically, what is suitable for fuel cells in the future is economies of scale: the more hydrogen consumers are used on site, the faster the cost per kilogram of hydrogen will be reduced." Funding programs at the national and European levels are helping the business case become "green" in the future economy. Subsidies can be used for vehicle equipment and infrastructure.
summary
The efficiency of the energy system always depends on the specific application. Unfortunately, there is no single system for all applications. Internal logistics and energy experts from still, a Hamburg based internal logistics supplier, provided guidance in this very chaotic situation.
