Industrial Truck

H&V Energy Brands

Industrial Truck Background and Trends

Industrial Trucks, also referred to as forklifts or lift trucks, play a critical role in the supply chain to move material.  They are used to raise, lower, or remove large objects or smaller objects on pallets, boxes, or crates.  Industrial trucks can be ridden by the operator or controlled by a walking operator.

The majority of Industrial Trucks in use today are electric and this trend will continue.  Electric industrial trucks can be operated indoors, unlike air polluting internal combustion engines (ICE), to support the e-commerce distribution expansion.  Moreover, in many regions of the world, government regulators are targeting a reduction in CO₂ which will favor the electric industrial truck over ICE.

The electric industrial truck can be powered by many different battery technologies and end-users need to evaluate the total cost of ownership for each technology.  One of the most frequent requests from end-users is maintenance-free batteries.  Maintenance-free batteries avoid regular electrolyte filling service intervals required by the most commonly used flooded lead battery combined with additional battery room space and equipment required to perform maintenance.  Maintenance-free battery technology is offered with AGM and Gel lead batteries and Li-Ion batteries.

What is a Maintenance free AGM and Gel Battery?

AGM Lead Batteries, or absorbent glass mat batteries, are a technological improvement to traditional flooded lead batteries.  AGM batteries operate under compression which maintains the integrity of the electrodes.  AGM batteries are becoming more popular in industrial trucks due to their maintenance-free design, proven performance in Industrial applications, safety, and recyclability.

Gel Lead batteries, achieve their maintenance-free benefit with a unique electrolyte design that includes a fumed silica.  Gel batteries have been proven in lift trucks for decades and are becoming more popular with the trend towards maintenance-free.  Similar to AGM batteries, Gel batteries have been proven over time, are safe, and recyclable.

What Types of Separators are Used in Forklift applications and What are Their Benefits?

EnergyGuard AGM separators for industrial trucks are designed to improve processability and battery assembly.  Further, EnergyGuard increases battery performance and life. 

Other benefits of H&V EnergyGuard AGM separators include:

• Available in various configurations to meet processability needs
• Reinforced for improved processability and durability 
• Lower electrical resistance improves battery performance
• Offered in a range of surface areas to improve electrolyte filling and cycle life
• Best-in-class thickness retention increasing battery life
• Ideal for cycling in industrial trucks

Hi-Sep Gel separators for industrial trucks have also been designed to improve processability and improve deep cycle battery life.

Other benefits of Hi-Sep’s separators include:

• 70% or more volume porosity which enables ionic mobility
• Tortuous pores preventing dendritic shorts 
• Low electrical resistance
• The lowest electrochemical oxidation in its class
• Durability in high-heat environments
• Low levels of impurities compared to others
• Available in different thicknesses, leafs, sleeves, or rolled good
• Good strength properties and resists punctures improving battery assembly 

AGM Battery Separators from H&V

It’s essential that industrial trucks use proven AGM and Hi-Sep separators to keep their operations running smoothly.  H&V is a global leader partnering and supplying AGM separators to the Industrial market.  Our battery separators offer the highest standards for performance and battery assembly. To learn more about our product offerings, or for more information about how our AGM and Hi-Sep battery separators can benefit the Industrial Truck application, contact us today.