Test Operation to Start in 2021
Hyundai Mobis has succeeded in developing a hydrogen-powered forklift by partnering with Hyundai Motor and Hyundai Construction Machinery. The company will begin test operation of the new forklift at the Hydrogen Green Mobility Regulation-free Special Zone in Ulsan in early 2021 with the aim of commercializing it in 2023.
The three companies made a breakthrough seven months after signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in February to jointly develop construction machinery using hydrogen fuel cells.
The newly developed hydrogen forklift is a heavy-duty forklift that can lift up to five tons of cargo and can operate for five hours after being fully charged with hydrogen. Previously, a small hydrogen forklift truck carrying small items indoors had been unveiled, but a large heavy-duty hydrogen forklift has never been developed before. A hydrogen fuel cell system, which Hyundai Motor Group mass-produced for the first time in the world, was applied to the forklift. In the process, Hyundai Mobis developed a fuel cell power pack optimized for the hydrogen forklift on its own.
The power pack generates electricity on its own. It integrates a fuel cell stack, high-voltage batteries, a hydrogen tank, and a cooling system. The company has developed the system as hydrogen fuel cell system for automobiles cannot be applied to forklifts.
The three companies are jointly developing a hydrogen excavator following the hydrogen forklift, and plan to develop and introduce a prototype within this year.
Hyundai Mobis established a mass production system for hydrogen fuel cells in 2017. It has since been seeking to expand its fuel cell business. It currently has the capacity to produce 23,000 hydrogen fuel cells per year, and plans to expand the capacity to 40,000 units per year by 2022.