Hyster Company announces its selection by the Sustainable Energy Council (SEC) as one of four finalists in the industrial application category of the World Hydrogen 2023 Awards, presented to a company that has made positive contributions to the use of hydrogen and its industrial application over the previous year. Hyster is in the running for this award for designing and manufacturing the world’s first top-pick container handler powered by hydrogen fuel cells (HFC), which is currently being piloted at the Fenix Marine Services terminal at the Port of Los Angeles.

Building on the industry standard Hyster® H1050-1150XD-CH top-pick container handler design, the truck is powered by two Nuvera® 45 kW hydrogen fuel cells, working in tandem with an onboard lithium-ion battery to either power the equipment directly or charge the onboard battery. It provides the zero emissions benefit of a battery-only electric option, but with enough energy capacity to keep operations moving for a full shift, avoiding the need to interrupt productivity and stop to recharge or refuel.

Refueling the top pick with hydrogen can take as little as 15 minutes, and is designed to provide 8 to 10 hours of continuous run time while producing no harmful emissions – only water and heat. The top pick also features a patented energy recovery system that recovers and stores energy from lowering loads and braking, delivering more uptime and efficiency to save on energy requirements. The HFC-powered top pick is part of a broader approach by Hyster to use hydrogen fuel cells to enable the electrification of vehicles and equipment in more demanding applications that may not be a fit for power by batteries alone.

“This HFC-powered top-pick pilot is an important step to meeting demand for electrification at ports. Whether equipment is powered by battery or hydrogen fuel cells, terminal operations need to have options that meet the daily realities of their application as they plan for emissions reduction targets,” says Lyndle McCurley, Vice President, Big Trucks, Hyster Company. “Our customers deserve options that allow them to build the right solution based on their needs, not limited selection or shoehorning a single power technology.”

Compared to traditional internal combustion engine-powered equipment, the emissions savings from a single HFC-powered top pick are estimated to be 127 tons of carbon dioxide and almost half a ton of criteria pollution over the course of the year. The HFC top-pick project is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that puts billions of cap-and-trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, improving public health and the environment, and providing meaningful benefits to the most disadvantaged communities, low-income communities, and low-income households.

“The Port of Los Angeles is proud to partner with Hyster in their work on hydrogen fuel cell technology,” says Chris Cannon, Chief Sustainability Officer, Port of Los Angeles. “Not only does that work help the Port reach its zero-emissions goals, but it pushes the needle for what is possible for the future of clean cargo handling.”

One winner in each of six categories will be recognized on May 9, 2023, during the World Hydrogen 2023 Summit & Exhibition in the Rotterdam Ahoy, Netherlands, organized by Sustainable Energy Council in partnership with the Province of Zuid-Holland, the City of Rotterdam and the Port of Rotterdam.