Hydrogen at Work: BMW’s Materials Mover Previews Hydrogen-Fueled Future

No energy forecaster, government expert, or Ouija board can say when hydrogen will graduate from experimental fleets to our cars and trucks. But in some industries, hydrogen is already the fuel of choice. BMW has 230 hydrogen-powered forklifts, stackers, and tuggers (tractors) in daily use at its sprawling Spartanburg, South Carolina, manufacturing plant. To test these hydrogen pioneers, we delivered a trainload of parts to the assembly line with a stand-up-control materials mover. Driving a tugger is the most fun you can have at 3 to 6 mph. Even with a three-car train of parts in tow, there's an M division–style surge when you toggle the accelerator built into the steering yoke. To achieve the full 6 mph, you have to press a second button. When the yoke is turned to round a corner, the speed automatically drops to 3 mph. That's fast enough when you're restrained only by your grip, butt-cushion friction, and luck. This is the Nimitz class of Segway scooters. Hydrogen refueling stations open to the public 9 in California, 1 in South Carolina U.S./Global hydrogen delivered by pipeline 3.7/8.0 million tons (2011) major Hydrogen producers Air Liquide Air Products Linde Praxair The black box ahead of your knees is a Plug Power GenDrive consisting of a fuel cell, which produces electricity to power the tugger, and its hydrogen fuel tank. Except for a faint hum from the motor that drives the front wheels, this propulsion system doesn't make a peep. To stop, you rock the toggle back. While a bobtail tugger can be driven in reverse, backing up a train is forbidden because doing so can snap the couplers. Comparo: 2013 BMW 335i M Sport vs. 2013 Cadillac ATS 3.6, 2014 Lexus IS350 F Sport Road Test: 2009 Honda FCX Clarity What the H?: Everything You Need to Know About the Hydrogen-Fueled Future No government incentive drove BMW to use hydrogen for materials handling. According to market operations head ­Duncan Seaman, hydrogen fuel cells beat traditional lead-acid batteries in cost, sustainability, and employee well-being. Batteries lose power as they discharge, and replacing them in the middle of a shift takes 20 minutes. Each tank of hydrogen lasts a full shift, and a refill takes only two minutes. A 15,000-gallon tank of liquid hydrogen supplies 14 in-plant fueling stations. Fuel-cell forklifts aren't the only green initiatives in Spartanburg: Methane gas piped 9.5 miles from a landfill supplies half of the plant's electricity and heating needs. And a project is under way to see if hydrogen produced from that stream can be cleansed sufficiently for use in the plant's materials-handling equipment. If the experiment works, weekly liquid-hydrogen tanker visits will no longer be required. Internal combustion is deeply entrenched in our automotive culture, but applications like this advance hydrogen's cause. Eventually, it will make the leap from manufacturing BMWs to powering them. oh, the humanity In 2007, Honda had plans to distribute 200 fuel-cell FCX Clarities to SoCal lessees. Then the economy tanked. Then the Tohoku earthquake damaged the FCX's production facility. Total output: just 26 cars. many miles to go h2 highways: Fuel-cell cars always seem a decade away because there are few stations where their hydrogen tanks can be filled. Actually, this presumed lack of infrastructure is misleading: In-ground delivery systems have existed since the 1930s. Oil refiners use hydrogen delivered by pipelines to produce low-sulfur, high-octane gasoline, and H2 is also the key ingredient in ammonia used to make fertilizer. A global network more than 2000 miles long safely delivers millions of tons of hydrogen per annum. from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com

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