I’ve talked about hydrogen forklifts before as well as palette trucks and other H2 vehicles within a large warehouse setting. I’ve also talked about some of the biggest players who are using these commercial hydrogen vehicles for the benefits of clean indoor air plus their ability to run for hours and short refueling times. This makes these H2 vehicles more ideal choices than the same vehicles powered by either diesel engines or electric batteries.
Well, now Fuel Cells 2000 has come out with an impressive 99-page document called “The Business Case for Fuel Cells” which outlines hydrogen forklifts and the companies that are buying them in more detail than I have previously provided. The document also talks about fuel cells in the transportation industry and stationary fuel cells as well.
According to Fuel Cells 2000 these large companies “…cumulatively, have ordered, installed or deployed more than 1,000 fuel cell forklifts.”
These companies include well known brand names such as:
• Walmart
• Whole Foods
• Coca-Cola
• Staples
• Sysco
• Fed Ex
• Nestle
• Bridgestone-Firestone
• Nissan
• Kimberly-Clark
• Central Grocers
• H-E-B
• Wegmans
• Whole Foods Market
• Michelin
• Ace Hardware
• General Motors
As you can see there is a list of big players who are not only going green for corporate citizenship reasons, but they are going hydrogen to solve problems like indoor pollution and being able to use a forklift for an entire shift before refueling (more production from workers).
Some of the companies listed also are testing hydrogen cars for future use including Coca-Cola, Nissan and GM (of course), Michelin, FedEx, UPS, Ikea and Hilton. What I like about this report is by reading it one understands the magnitude of how many large companies are turning to hydrogen vehicles because they see advantages to their bottom lines.
Of the companies I’ve listed three are on the Dow 30. Of the companies I have not listed another three are on the Dow 30 such as AT&T, McDonalds and Johnson & Johnson that have used or are using stationary fuel cell power. This means that 20-percent of the Dow 30 companies are using fuel cells in some part of their business to help with their bottom lines.
Hydrogen fuel cells aren’t the secret that they used to be. Word is definitely spreading about the value of going hydrogen for common sense environmental, economic and functional reasons.
This is not a surprise.Public needs to do this such as at JiffyGas.com
I agree, people are starting to wise up to the benefits of Hydrogen. When the big companies start making real use of them I think others will follow.