48 V Lithium-Ion forklift battery system introduced

Innovative lithium-ion technology for 48V forklifts has been introduced by Jungheinrich, with high availability thanks to fast recharging and interim charging.
Users benefit economically and ecologically from fast recharging times, zero maintenance and a long battery life, as the option of short interim charging times increases the availability of electric stackers. This makes possible permanent fleet operation of up to 24 hours, seven days a week without requiring a battery change.
Even after an interim charging time of just 40 minutes the high-performance energy cells with 360 Ah take on 50 per cent of their capacity. After 80 minutes the Jungheinrich li-ion battery achieves its full charge.
By eliminating the need to change the battery, the fleet operator is relieved not only of the expense of buying a second battery, but also of the cost of battery changing equipment, special charging stations and the time required to perform the battery change – not to mention the reduction in workplace accidents during battery changes, which the new system makes unnecessary. It moreover eliminates all the traditional maintenance activities attached to lead-acid systems.
Sustainable and energy-efficient
Using state-of-the-art lithium-ion technology, Jungheinrich has developed a completely maintenance-free battery with a life expectancy of up to 3,000 full cycles and a considerably higher number of partial cycles. By way of comparison, the average life of lead-acid batteries is 900 to 1,200 cycles.

To guarantee maximum of efficiency, safety and convenience in daily operations, the battery, charging device and vehicle are all perfectly coordinated with each other. And the battery is permanently monitored by an innovative, integrated battery management system. The resulting high voltage stability of these lithium-ion batteries translates into improved performance over the entire operating cycle. And higher currents can be recovered, making the industrial trucks up to 20% more energy efficient while yielding higher throughput. This improved energy efficiency translates into the battery requiring less primary energy (mains power).
“This means that lithium-ion technology guarantees completely worry-free operation. It protects our environment via the best CO2 footprint compared with any other energy storage system. And it is easy to handle and manage,” said Dirk Schüler of Jungheinrich Energy and Drive Systems.
Lithium-ion batteries are free of the operative restrictions caused by escaping gases or acid as is the case with conventional lead-acid batteries. As a result, vehicles with lithium-ion batteries can be used without a second thought for operations in the food industry, even at temperatures ranging from -20 to 55° C.