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BMW Implements Plug Power Hydrogen Fuel Cells
Green Technology Featured Articles
June 10, 2013

BMW Implements Plug Power Hydrogen Fuel Cells

By Calvin Azuri
TMCnet Contributor

BMW Manufacturing Co. has utilized hydrogen fuel cells from Plug Power (News - Alert) Inc. at its Spartanburg, South Carolina facility. The fuel cells will be utilized to power all material handling trucks and forklifts. BMW Manufacturing now has a clean energy fleet comprising of 275 entities, the biggest fleet in North America.


As part of its environmental accountability, BMW integrates competent, unconventional technology in all feasible production processes. In 2010, BMW developed an area near its 4 million-square-foot production facility in Spartanburg for storing and distributing hydrogen supplied by Linde Industrial Gases. BMW fit a minimum of 100 forklift trucks and pallet jacks in its X3 assembly hall with Plug Power’s GenDrive hydrogen fuel cell system. Supplementary GenDrive units have been incorporated by BMW to an additional 175 trucks and forklifts in the assembly hall for its X5 and X6 automobiles and in its paint and body shops.

In a statement, Duncan Seaman, head of market operations Americas at BMW Group said, "BMW's ongoing commitment to clean production is evident in our recent expansion of our hydrogen fuel cell program. We appreciate Linde's partnership in supporting the expansion, making our entire operation more sustainable."

The environmentally-friendly GenDrive hydrogen fuel cells can be used in place of lead-acid batteries. Apart from decreasing operational expenses, fuel cell usage generates zero emissions and enhances dependability. With no requirement for huge battery storage and charging rooms, costly production space is released. The overall electricity requirement is decreased as battery charging is eliminated.

By implementing GenDrive fuel cells in its manufacturing center, BMW can leverage advantages like augmented productivity for both vehicle operators and manufacture. Material handling trucks powered by fuel cells can run for a larger period of time at full speed. Re-fueling can also be finished in a maximum of two minutes.

Andy Marsh, CEO at Plug Power said, "The expansion of BMW's hydrogen fuel cell material handling fleet in Spartanburg makes BMW one of the world's largest users of hydrogen fuel cells at a single site. This milestone is significant because it demonstrates that a GenDrive solution can profitably scale to bring enormous benefits to the organization including increased productivity, cost savings and carbon-footprint reductions."




Edited by Alice Koganova


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