LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa.,
Feb. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Air
Products (NYSE: APD) today announced that its industry leading
hydrogen fueling technology and infrastructure is now on stream and
providing hydrogen to fuel material handling fuel cell units at
WinCo Foods LLC's 800,000 square foot grocery distribution center
in Modesto, Calif. Air
Products is currently fueling 33 material handling units, with 49
more pieces of equipment to be added in April, and increasing to
184 overall when the facility conversion to hydrogen-powered fuel
cell lifts is complete in 2013.
"We continue to grow our leadership position in the material
handling equipment market at a time when recognition of the
productivity and sustainability benefits of hydrogen fueling for
this application continues to increase. We worked closely
with WinCo as the timing for getting hydrogen supply installed was
critical to a seamless conversion of their material handling
equipment to hydrogen fuel cells. We began using our mobile fueling
technology, and then brought the permanent fueling station online
this month which includes two fueling dispensers," said
Sarah Hammond, business development
manager – Hydrogen Energy Systems at Air Products. Details on Air
Products' hydrogen fueling station technologies and projects are
provided at www.airproducts.com/h2energy.
The WinCo material handling units being fueled by Air Products
include Plug Power's (NASDAQ: PLUG) GenDrive® hydrogen
fuel cell power units. The GenDrive systems can be quickly refueled
in just minutes, completely eliminating the need to change, store,
charge and maintain multiple lead acid batteries for each lift.
"Plug Power's GenDrive fuel cell systems have provided WinCo
with a power solution for its lift truck fleet that increases
productivity and reduces operational costs over traditional
lead-acid batteries. At the same time, the fuel cells offer a much
more sustainable alternative for power," said Andy Marsh, CEO at Plug Power. "Our GenDrive
units run on hydrogen, and Air Products understands the importance
of getting the hydrogen infrastructure in place so the fuel cells
can be deployed and the customer can start realizing the benefits
of the project."
There are many advantages to using hydrogen fuel cell-powered
forklifts and material handling equipment. Hydrogen-powered
equipment only needs refueling once or twice daily, depending on
use, and does not require change-out downtime while traditional
battery-powered equipment is taken out of operation for battery
replacement or recharging approximately every four to six hours.
Hydrogen-powered equipment provides consistent power strength
during use and does not experience decreased performance or wear
down as battery units do when nearing change-out or recharge time.
Additionally, unlike battery-powered forklifts, hydrogen-powered
fuel cells are not adversely impacted by temperature when operating
in coolers and freezers. Further, hydrogen-powered equipment is
more environmentally friendly and does not involve lead-acid
battery storage or disposal issues.
Air Products, the leading global supplier of hydrogen to
refineries to assist in the production of cleaner burning
transportation fuels, has unique experience in the hydrogen fueling
industry. These varied fueling applications provide an opportunity
to assess consumer experiences, evaluate product performance and
advance product improvements. In fact, in certain market
applications, fueling rates at several individual sites of over
15,000 refills per year are occurring. The company has placed
over 130 hydrogen fueling stations in the
United States and 19 countries worldwide. Cars,
trucks, vans, buses, scooters, forklifts, locomotives, planes, cell
towers, material handling equipment, and even submarines have been
fueled with trend-setting technologies that involve Air Products'
know-how, equipment and hydrogen. Use of the company's
technology is increasing and is currently over 350,000 hydrogen
fills per year.
Air Products has more than 50 years of hydrogen experience and
is on the forefront of hydrogen energy technology development.
Air Products has an extensive patent portfolio with over 50
patents in hydrogen dispensing technology. Air Products
provides liquid and gaseous hydrogen, and HCNG (hydrogen/compressed
natural gas) fueling, and has developed a variety of enabling
devices and protocols for fuel dispensing at varied
pressures. Hydrogen for these stations can be delivered to a
site via truck, produced by natural gas reformation, biomass
conversion, or by electrolysis, including electrolysis that is
solar and wind driven.
About Air Products
Air Products (NYSE: APD) provides atmospheric, process and
specialty gases; performance materials; equipment; and technology.
For over 70 years, the company has enabled customers to become more
productive, energy efficient and sustainable. More than 18,000
employees in over 40 countries supply innovative solutions to the
energy, environment and emerging markets. These include
semiconductor materials, refinery hydrogen, coal gasification,
natural gas liquefaction, and advanced coatings and adhesives. In
fiscal 2011, Air Products had sales of $10.1
billion. For more information, visit
www.airproducts.com.
About WinCo
For more information about WinCo visit
www.wincofoods.com/.
About Plug Power
The architects of modern fuel cell technology, Plug Power
revolutionized the industry with cost-effective power solutions
that increase productivity, lower operating costs and reduce carbon
footprints. Long-standing relationships with industry leaders
forged the path for our key accounts, including Wegmans, Whole
Foods, and FedEx Freight. With more than 2,000 GenDrive units
shipped to material handling customers, accumulating over 5 million
hours of runtime, Plug Power manufactures tomorrow's incumbent
power solutions today. Visit us at www.plugpower.com.
***NOTE: This release may contain forward-looking statements
within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are
based on management's reasonable expectations and assumptions as of
the date of this release regarding important risk factors. Actual
performance and financial results may differ materially from
projections and estimates expressed in the forward-looking
statements because of many factors not anticipated by management,
including risk factors described in the Company's Form 10K for its
fiscal year ended September 30,
2011.
SOURCE Air Products