The French group Stef, which specialises in transport and logistics services for temperature-controlled food products, has launched a project to develop a global hydrogen ecosystem at its logistics hub in Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid). The purpose of the project is to produce green hydrogen to power its forklift trucks and decarbonise its material handling operations.

This project, along with a similar project at its transport hub in Athis-Mons (France), will be developed together with Toyota Material Handling Europe, which will provide the hydrogen fuel cell handling equipment, and Plug Power, a provider of integrated green hydrogen solutions.

Completely local production
The hydrogen that will power the forklift batteries will be produced on site by an electrolyser. This device uses electricity to break down water into hydrogen and oxygen. The electricity required for this process will be generated by solar self-consumption through the solar PV plant installed on the roof, with a capacity of 2.9 MWP, and meaning that the production will be completely local.

This technology will also improve the productivity of forklift operators. Stef's logistics plant operates at between -18 and +4ºC, conditions in which hydrogen fuel cells offer particularly efficient performance, with higher operational productivity for longer periods of time, compared to conventional fuel cells.

Advantages of hydrogen fuel cells
Another advantage of hydrogen-powered forklift trucks is that they can be recharged in less than three minutes, reducing the risk of accidents associated with changing lead-acid batteries. They are also more convenient for transfer activities., Hydrogen fuel cells do in addition last ten years on average, twice as long as traditional batteries, thus reducing their environmental impact over their entire life cycle.

Thanks to all these advantages, Stef's project, with hydrogen as the energy carrier and fuel cells as the energy solution, will improve material handling operations and contribute to decarbonising the company's logistics.

Operational requirements
Toyota Material Handling Europe, a subsidiary of Japan's Toyota, is a long-standing supplier to Stef, currently supporting its fleet of 6,000 forklift trucks across Europe. In this project, it will provide fuel-cell-compatible models that are specially configured to meet the operational requirements of its facilities.

Plug Power, a US provider of comprehensive hydrogen solutions, has implemented the complete GenKey ecosystem, which includes hydrogen fuel cells, GenFuel infrastructure, a green hydrogen supply and ongoing technical service.

^{Photo: Toyota Material Handling Europe}