STILL raises efficiency potentials with lithium ion batteries

The Hamburg industrial truck manufacturer STILL plans to take the next logical step towards electric mobility by 2017, and to offer 90% of all STILL trucks with lithium ion (Li-Ion) batteries. STILL will already present other warehouse truck models, tow trucks, and a first counterbalance truck with Li-Ion batteries in the STILL Pavilion P35 on the outdoor site at the CeMAT 2016 trade fair in Hanover. For this the intralogistics specialist uses an in-house solution for the battery and charging technology. The perfect interaction between the STILL industrial truck and STILL’s Li-Ion battery should enable customers to derive further potential efficiencies.

The fact that the trend towards Li-Ion batteries will become generally accepted is confirmed not only by the noticeable growth in the market share of electric trucks as a proportion of total sales in Europe in recent years, but also by the fact that ever more users in logistics and industry appreciate the benefits of the Li-Ion battery compared to classical lead-acid batteries. This is also confirmed by experts at the Fraunhofer ISI (Institute for System and Innovation Research) who, in their study “Product Roadmap, Lithium Ion Batteries 2030”, considered the Li-Ion battery to be the key technology for forward-looking (electrical) drives. Depending on the design, the Li-Ion battery was said to be relevant as a central energy storage device for all types of electrical trucks. For hybrid electric cars, in which power density is the key factor, for fully-electric battery-powered trucks, for which high energy density is the most important factor, and for all other drive system and truck concepts in between.

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To enable STILL’s customers to make optimum use of the advantages of this battery technology, and in addition to a considerably expanded range of products with Li-Ion batteries, the focus is on comprehensive advice on the topic of LI-Ion technology so logistics processes can be planned sustainably in the long term and the benefits of Li-Ion technology can be put into play where they are meaningful. In this respect, STILL always gives priority to the best solution for the customer’s respective individual application.

The fact that the use of Li-Ion batteries in the industrial trucks area pays dividends is shown by the price development for Li-Ion batteries, which is already positive today, and by the many applications in which this technology has already proved to be successful. According to the Fraunhofer ISI, there are still big development potentials in the coming two decades, especially with regard to energy density and a further large reduction in costs. Acquisition costs have already fallen by around 50% since 2011, a price development which experts had not expected to occur before 2020.

The cost argument is already quickly dismissed even today when the procurement price is set against Return on Investment and Life Cycle Cost, since the benefits of this technology have the upper hand: for example low maintenance costs – the battery is 100% maintenance-free – and the fact that top-up recharging can be carried out very quickly at any time without a special charging room. These are factors that increase the availability of the trucks and have a noticeable effect on operating costs for operators. Even today, industrial trucks with Li-Ion technology already consume up to 30% less energy than machines with a lead-acid battery. At the same time the lifetime of these batteries, with a guarantee of 2,500 charging cycles, is at least twice as long as the lifetime of a lead battery, or even several times as long, depending on the application.

STILL’s new Li-Ion battery is based on lithium-iron-phosphate technology, which has been proven over and over again. This ensures that the trucks can serve efficiently over the full temperature range, i.e. even when used in a cold-storage warehouse. The batteries are available with voltages of 24 and 48 Volt, and with a power range from 1.9 to 49 kilowatt-hours. The customer receives the optimum battery solution for his specific application. For example, if he has to use the truck to cover an intensive two-shift operation, STILL offers a battery solution with which there is no need for a battery change. A more cost-efficient battery variant with which top-up charging can take place during idle times is available for tasks that are associated with pauses and do not take place continuously throughout the shift. Sixty percent of the battery’s capacity is already available after 40 minutes, and the battery has its full capacity again within an hour. The scope of STILL’s Li-Ion battery service also includes a matching STILL battery charger. This enables the Battery Management System (BMS) present in the battery to communicate with the truck and battery charger via a CAN-Bus interface. The BMS shows the driver the state of charge and remaining battery lifetime on the display, and ensures that the Li-Ion battery is neither deeply discharged nor overcharged, so the battery achieves its optimum lifetime.

In addition to the pedestrian-operated EXU Li-Ion low lift pallet truck with load capacities from 1.6 to 2 tons, which STILL already successfully positioned in the market in 2014, the Hamburg company will present various new models at the CeMAT 2016 trade fair, including order pickers and tow trucks in the CX model series, new low lift pallet trucks and double decker high lift pallet trucks in the EXU-S und EXD-S model series, and a first counterbalance truck in the RX 20 model series with a load-carrying capacity of 1.4 to 2 tons. Each of the trucks is available in application-specific variants.