The alarming energy crisis and the shift in world climate is a clear indicator of the urgency of switching to cleaner energy sources at every level. As the future of energy storage solutions, Lithium-ion battery technology provides sustainable changes in transforming our way to store and consuming energy.
Lithium-ion batteries have been widely adopted in the production of electric vehicles. In the material handling market, Li-Ion batteries became popular mainly with entry-level pallet trucks due to the introduction of the BSL24-252 from BSLBATT® in 2012. Since then, entry-level pallet trucks are mainly produced with Li-Ion batteries, though the technology used can differ quite significantly, leading to different characteristics and safety standards. Larger equipment has been available with Li-Ion options for several years already, but at the same time, it was always extremely expensive and paid mainly in heavy-duty, 3 shift applications. With the development of new trucks, this obstacle can be eliminated, and all categories of material handling products can be powered by Li-Ion technology in the near future, according to BSLBATT® studies.
Increasing productivity is a top priority. When there are goods to move, there's no time to waste worrying if your forklifts have enough energy to do the job. BSLBATT® batteries are the perfect go-to for power-hungry applications. They are specifically designed to perform in high-intensity, multi-shift environments. Lithium batteries charge faster, work harder, last longer and are virtually maintenance-free. What does that mean for business? Fewer replacement batteries. No need for expensive and intrusive battery changes. Lower labor costs. Less downtime. And consistent performance without a voltage drop especially in high and heavy load applications. With BSLBATT® batteries, your power source is steady, non-disruptive and dependable.
● Why are lithium-ion batteries getting more prominent attention in today’s market?
● Where are the differences between traditional lead-acid batteries and the latest innovations in Li-Ion technology?
● What are the different types of Li-Ion chemistry? Are they safe? Does it have to be expensive?
Electric powered material handling products is growing heavily in market share in the past 10 years with a strong push due to E-Commerce and the growth of warehousing vs. decentralized storage. In the past, all of these trucks have been powered by some sort of Lead-acid battery, Gel Battery or AGM Battery. In recent years, Li-Ion became more and more cost-efficient as it played a stronger role in the development and purchase strategy of manufacturers and customers.
With a difference in chemistry between those two battery types come differences in performance and cost. While both lithium-ion and lead-acid battery options can be effective storage solutions, here’s how they stack up when compared head to head in key categories:
Depending on the type of material handling product, the decision about the battery technology can be easy or a little bit harder. When you look at the prices of pallet trucks nowadays, it seems logical to go for a Li-Ion version even at ride-on versions, as the cost price is comparable and adds tremendous advantages. When thinking about the purchase of reach trucks and forklift trucks, the price gap for most manufacturers is still an obstacle for many customers. In that case, only manufacturers with Li-Ion customized trucks can offer a real alternative as their production costs can match the price of lead-acid trucks.
When thinking about the purchase of a Li-Ion battery, the following features really stand out:
Longer lifespan
Lithium-ion batteries have a lifecycle of 3000 or more compared to just 500-1000 cycles in lead-acid. Lithium-ion batteries generally last for several times the number of cycles as lead-acid batteries, leading to a longer effective lifespan for lithium-ion products. Cycles are also counted in % of charge rather than one cycle every time you connect the battery to the charger. This means: 10% charge is 1/10 of a cycle with a Li-Ion battery, while a 10% charge at a lead-acid battery is 1 full cycle.
Opportunity charging
While lead-acid batteries always need a full charge cycle of 8-12 hours to keep the batteries chemistry in balance, LI-Ion batteries really like opportunity charging. They can be plugged in the wall and charge for 10 Minutes during a lunch break. This offers a unique way to work your shifts and reduce the overall Ah carried around in the truck.
Lighter weight
Lithium-ion batteries offer high power density which causes lithium-ion batteries to be relatively small and light. It is only one-third the weight of lead-acid batteries. This offers manufacturers like BSLBATT® the opportunity to develop the trucks with higher standards of ergonomics, bigger legroom and better performing trucks due to the smaller size and weight of the batteries.
Higher efficiency
Most lithium-ion batteries are 95 percent efficient or more, meaning that 95 percent or more of the energy stored in a lithium-ion battery is actually able to be used. Conversely, lead-acid batteries see efficiencies closer to 80 to 85 percent.
Faster charging
Higher efficiency batteries charge faster, improved efficiency means a higher effective battery capacity. Lithium batteries take 2-3 hours to charge while lead-acid needs 8 hours. Lithium battery's high effective capacity reduces downtime in warehouse duties.
More environmental-friendly
From an ecological point of view, it‘s non-toxic and harmless. Lithium batteries emit no gas so it is a much cleaner technology and is safer for the environment than lead-acid.
Zero maintenance
While lead-acid batteries need special maintenance, Lithium batteries don’t require active maintenance to extend their service life. That largely eliminates the costs of battery upkeeping, maintenance and infrastructure.
In addition, a BSLBATT® battery offers a few things the competition can't.
It's Smart
All batteries include cloud-based, real-time monitoring to measure the overall health of the battery. Status alerts go directly to the fleet manager for added peace of mind. Data is accumulated and aggregated for purposes of predictive analytics for maintenance and longevity.
It's Economic
You'll find the BSLBATT® battery competitively priced even with important features like telematics, onboard operator monitor, dynamic warranty, low service burden, and full equipment integration. We offer an all-inclusive package price with no hidden "add-ons". Our drop-in batteries integrate with all major OEM equipment including Toyota, Crown, Raymond, and NACCO.
It's Tough
Our experience in material handling dictates the design and performance of the battery, not the other way around. That why we chose to put our battery through MSDS testing. BSLBATT® batteries passed all the uncompromising scrutiny of MSDS, UN38.3 to achieve the highest protection and safety standard.
It's Safe
We chose a prismatic “all-water system” design, which is the safest cell for use in forklift applications. It incorporates double and triple fail-safe features, The entire life cycle of the product, including all kinds of abuse, will not cause accidents such as burning or explosion.
In a nutshell, lead-acid batteries may be less expensive from procurement perspectives, however, a lithium battery solution may contribute to a more cost-efficient warehouse operation in the long run:
● Less expense and energy spent on charging batteries
● No time and labor involved by swapping batteries
● Less time and labor spent maintaining and watering lead-acid batteries
● Reduced waste of energy (a lead-acid battery normally uses up to 50% of its energy through heat, while a lithium battery uses only up to 15%)
● Smaller overall battery size leads to similar purchase costs and offers the same or better autonomy due to opportunity charging.
Lithium-ion is named for its active materials. There are several types of chemical components to build rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. The most two relevant materials to the forklift industry are Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) and Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (NMC)
NMC technology is very well known from the car industry and other manufacturing where weight and size play a major role. The upside of NMC batteries is a high energy density and the compact size. The downside of the NMC cell is the high possibility of inflammation and explosion when punctured or overheated. Due to the lightweight and high energy density, some manufacturers are still using NMC in material handling products, while manufacturers like BYD, Linde, Still Equipment and others have switched to a different technology.
LFP technology is currently the technology used by the leading manufacturers of Li-Ion material handling products. LFP offers good electrochemical performance with low resistance. The key benefits are high current rating and long cycle life, besides good thermal stability, enhanced safety and tolerance if abused. There are many advantages to choosing an LFP-powered machine. Especially when applying on larger equipment like an electric ride-on a pallet truck or electric forklift trucks, the LFP battery plays out its strength—it does not catch fire or burn when punctures – it is just safe!
When considering replacing an existing lead-acid battery by a Lithium-Ion battery, or comparing lithium battery adoption in high power electric trucks across different providers, you need to take a couple of things into consideration:
HIGH-QUALITY CELLS
The cell is the heart of the battery. BSLBATT® uses only the highest quality cells of the safest technology and strives to improve energy and power density and extend service life. BSLBATT® adopts LiFePO4 cells that can be operated in a wide range of temperatures for various applications, even in extreme weather conditions. BSLBATT® has been designing and assembling custom battery solutions or various electronic applications. There are 13 specifications on lithium battery cells to match our customers’ unique requirements.
RELIABLE BMS SYSTEM
The safety of lithium-based batteries has attracted much media and legal attention. Battery management systems (BMS) play a crucial role to protect the battery against short circuit, reverse polarity, over and under-voltage, and over current in the reliability of systems utilizing lithium-ion batteries. By data-collecting, calculating and controlling the charge and discharge process of voltage, current, temperature, and state-of-charge, BMS secures the battery longevity and improves battery performance.
Lithium-ion batteries are notorious for bursting into flames when overheating, mostly while charging. A good charger is not enough to prevent this. The BMS communicates with the battery, with the truck, and with the charger and continuously monitors the temperature. The BMS kicks in when the temperature is out of range.
The BMS also prevents the battery from overheating during usage, as the lifetime of a li-ion battery strongly depends on its operating conditions. And the BMS does more: Charging is optimized and charging and discharging cycles are stored in its memory. BSLBATT® Lithium-ion batteries are produced in our own factory and equipped with our own in-house developed BMS to ensure the reliability of the batteries and safety operation.
STABLE CAN-BUS SYSTEM
The Controller Area Network (CAN bus) is the nerve system, enabling communication between all parts of the battery. The CAN bus acts as a central networking hub communicating information of battery condition and automatically sending alarms to the BMS system when damages occur.
With a combination of BMS and CAN functionalities, BSLBATT® develops its remote diagnostic system to proactively monitor the battery performance of all BSLBATT® Lithium-integrated trucks. It is a powerful system providing advanced data monitoring and analysis capabilities for better technical support services.
SUITABLE FITTINGS
High-quality components can avoid overheating when high current charges and discharges. BSLBATT® batteries are engineered with the highest quality components to maximize the performance of your battery system.
Engineered for Peak Performance
BSLBATT® batteries are designed and developed by lifelong material handling equipment experts. Our founders have over 20 years in the forklift world, uniquely positioning us to understand how the battery integrates with the equipment and the operators. Most lithium forklift batteries are developed by battery manufacturers whose product development approach is strictly from a concept/design/build perspective. They built a battery then found an application. BSLBATT® considers additional components like how the operator will interface with the product. How easy is it to do field repair by a forklift technician? How can the design of our battery, working in conjunction with the forklift and operator, help avoid downtime?
With BSLBATT®, you don't just buy a drop-in replacement battery. You buy a company with an impressive pedigree in the forklift and material handling industry. You buy a suite of services that provide you what you need to get up and running and to stay operating at a maximum level including:
Precise sizing of the battery to your equipment and application
● Determining the quickest ROI for your operation
● Training and support
● Maintenance and Service
● Accurately calibrating battery to the charger
● Cloud-based Telematics
A Good Investment For The Future
Often, an option that has a low upfront cost can be the most costly choice in the long run, which is why it is important to know what you are buying.
A lithium-ion battery is a smart investment because it not only lasts longer, improves productivity and saves costs, it also enhances safety, protecting your most important investment, your employees.
