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Raymond's Fuel Cell 'Living Lab'
Raymond Corp.'s Greene, NY, manufacturing facility has become a "living lab" with hydrogen fuel cell-powered Raymond forklifts in the facility.
The goal of the program is to study the performance of hydrogen fuel in electric forklifts and to demonstrate the safety of a hydrogen-fueled forklift environment.
In a conventional lift truck, the energy used to drive the truck is stored as electricity in a lead-acid battery. In a fuel cell, energy is stored as hydrogen gas and converted into electricity as needed.
According to Raymond, there appears to be significant potential to improve warehouse productivity and lower operating costs if fuel cells are used in high-throughput warehouse operations.
Hydrogen fuel cells offer higher productivity because they can be rapidly refueled—in several minutes vs. several hours—eliminating the need to change a battery.
Cost savings come from eliminating the need to buy batteries and chargers and from labor savings. Another advantage is that the voltage delivered by a fuel cell remains constant; the vehicle experienced no performance degradation until the fuel runs out.
Furthermore, hydrogen is environmentally clean: the only by-products from a fuel cell are water and heat.
SECTION 1 / FACILITY DESIGN
Design A Blueprint For Sustainability
Start with an energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly facility.
By Carol Casper
Sustainability in commercial enterprise means economic development that is "ecologically viable now and in the long run," according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The good news for the warehousing and logistics community is that business processes and investments which are ecologically viable also tend to be economically beneficial, often in the near-term and if not, then certainly in the long run.
Whether it's a matter of energy efficiency, building layout and design, or reuse of packaging wherever possible in manufacturing and distribution, approaches to operations which minimize an enterprise's ecological footprint also tend to provide significant returns on investment.
"Green leads to green," as the website of a leading reusable packaging supplier, ORBIS Corp., Oconomowoc, WI, proclaims. When it comes to environmental sustainability, you can do well by doing good.
The most effective way to build sustainability into an enterprise is to start at the beginning: with the design of energy-efficient, environment-friendly facilities and lean distribution networks.
But even existing buildings can be modified to reduce energy use and there are a host of operational decisions companies can make on a daily basis that will result in less use of resources and lighter demands on the environment, while at the same time improving not just a company's image, but also its bottom line.
"Anyone who's willing to make an investment in energy savings can find significant opportunities with very quick paybacks. It's economical to be green in both the long and short run," points out Mark Lowery, divisional vice president, refrigeration, for Stellar, Jacksonville, FL, an international, integrated firm focused on industrial design, engineering, construction and mechanical systems.
Many green buildings cost no more to build and may cost less than conventional alternatives, because resource-efficient strategies and integrated "green" design features often permit the downsizing of more costly mechanical, electrical, and structural systems, according to a report prepared for the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works by the U.S. Green Building Council.