Start of Demonstration for 'Hydrogen Forklift'... Charging Time Reduced from 8 Hours to 5 Minutes

Ministry of SMEs and Ulsan City Conduct Operation Demonstration... Overcoming Electric Charging Limitations
No Safety Certification Standards under Industrial Safety Act, Field Deployment Impossible
Already Commercialized Overseas including the US... "Expecting Productivity Improvement"

Hydrogen Fuel Cell Forklift and Automated Guided Vehicle

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Hydrogen fuel cell forklifts and unmanned transport vehicles have been granted demonstration exemptions by the government and will begin full-scale operation.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and Ulsan City announced that starting from the 15th, they will officially commence the demonstration operation of forklifts and unmanned transport vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells for the first time in Korea. Ulsan was designated as a regulatory free zone (Hydrogen Green Mobility) in November 2019 and has been focusing on preliminary preparations for demonstration and technology development such as hydrogen fuel cell power packs.

This demonstration consists of three projects: ▲hydrogen fuel cell forklifts ▲hydrogen fuel cell unmanned transport vehicles ▲mobile hydrogen refueling station construction demonstration. It involves replacing the energy source of indoor logistics transport machines used in warehouses or general indoor workspaces from electricity to hydrogen.

Until now, indoor logistics transport machines have been operated by electric charging. However, due to long charging times compared to short operating times, productivity was low and there was a burden to secure additional transport machines.

For these reasons, interest in hydrogen fuel cell indoor logistics transport machines has been steadily increasing. In the United States, as of 2018, 22,000 hydrogen fuel cell forklifts have been distributed, marking the beginning of full-scale commercialization.

However, in Korea, production and deployment in industrial sites were impossible because safety certification standards under the Industrial Safety and Health Act had not been established.

The Ulsan regulatory free zone received exemptions to improve such difficulties in industrial sites, completed the production of indoor logistics transport machines, and is entering the demonstration operation phase.

Minister Kwon Chil-seung of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

If this demonstration succeeds, forklift charging time will be drastically reduced from the existing 8 hours to 5 minutes. The operating time of unmanned transport vehicles will also increase about threefold from 2 hours to 6 hours. It is expected to lay the foundation for productivity improvement and commercialization.

The demonstration will be conducted by operating 4 hydrogen forklifts and 1 unmanned transport vehicle in actual work environments. Data obtained through operation (charging frequency, usage time, load voltage, etc.) will be used to establish detailed standards necessary for safety verification and certification.

Additionally, localization of the membrane electrode assembly (MEA), a core material of the fuel cell power pack, and the 'solid hydrogen storage system' capable of safely storing hydrogen will be promoted, with development planned to be completed within the first half of the year.

The mobile hydrogen refueling station construction demonstration expands the refueling target from only automobiles under current regulations to include indoor logistics transport machines through exemptions.

Safety standards for the construction of mobile hydrogen refueling stations were established in consultation with the Korea Gas Safety Corporation and approved by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in October last year. Approximately 2,600 safety films were attached at the demonstration site to prepare for safety accidents.

Minister Kwon Chil-seung of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups stated, "We will actively support the demonstration results leading to institutional improvements and commercialization, and help Ulsan, which has the largest hydrogen production infrastructure nationwide, to become a hydrogen industry logistics hub through the regulatory free zone."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.