Tag Archives: Ground Support Equipment

MHI Annual Fall Conference Report – Spotlight Shines on Electrification of Material Handling Equipment

Robin Schneider, Green Cubes Director of Marketing

Earlier this month I attended the Fall 2023 MHI Annual Conference, an interactive thought leadership event for manufacturing, material handling, and supply chain professionals that focuses on the technology innovation taking place across the supply chain industry. As Vice Chair of the Advanced Energy Council, which was established earlier this year to represent the companies that produce, implement, and support advanced energy technologies and accessories with the intention of being inclusive of current and future motive energy storage technologies, we are observing more and more interest in electrification of material handling equipment. Following many decades of electric forklifts’ engineering evolution based on the single power source technology (the lead-acid battery), electric lift trucks have finally adopted a new power source: a lithium-ion battery pack. The benefits of lithium solutions are well-known by now: longer runtime and cycle life, less maintenance, and improved sustainability. Lithium batteries provide a better return on investment, the ability to optimize critical real property space, and enable the use of Automated Guided Vehicles and Autonomous Mobile Robots (AGVs and AMRs), which rely heavily on durable, “hands-off” lithium batteries. Now that lithium batteries can be an integral part of a lift truck, and there is the option of using a third-party modular lithium battery pack made by a specialist company there is a need to establish standard vocabulary within the industry. How is “chassis Integrated” different from “CAN Integrated” and what exactly does it mean for the lithium battery to be “drop-in”? Will a chassis-integrated or a modular battery pack become the standard? These questions turn out to be pivotal for the development of material handling equipment. In consumer devices powered by lithium batteries (like cell phones), an integrated battery is a standard choice today. A user does not need to pick and choose among multiple options or perform any maintenance on the battery; one size fits all users. But with professional tools and equipment, a modular detachable battery usually does a better job. These different approaches are highly relevant to material handling equipment. Ready to learn more? Contact us now!

Green Cubes Announces IEC Certification of 48 Volt Lithium-Ion Battery Backup Units for Telecom and Data Center Market

Lithium Guardian Batteries provide safe, reliable, low cost energy storage for mission critical system operators

KOKOMO, IND. December 7, 2022 – Green Cubes, the leader in producing Lithium-ion (Li-ion) power systems that facilitate the transition from lead-acid batteries and Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) power to green Li-ion battery power, today announced International Safety Certification IEC 62368 certification of the Lithium Guardian Battery Backup Units. The Lithium Guardian family of backup batteries are designed for rack mount installations in the Telecom and Data Center industries.

The Telecom and Data Center facilities operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, supporting mission critical functions. Traditionally, large lead-acid batteries are used to provide backup power. Li-ion batteries allow operators to store more energy in smaller spaces to power equipment longer when the grid power goes is unavailable. Lithium Guardian batteries serve this market by providing safe, clean, and reliable backup power in a small, lightweight, and cost-effective package.

The Guardian product family provides complete power system solutions to telecom and other 48V system operators with products providing rectification, power management, and energy storage. The Lithium Guardian Battery Unit (GBU) is a 48V, 105 Ah, 5kWh Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery offering reliable energy storage in a small lightweight form factor. With a design life of over 10 years, and well over 3500 cycles the LFP GBU provides operators with a long lasting energy storage solution.

“Safety and reliability are paramount to our requirements when designing Li-ion batteries. We verify our designs are safe and reliable for their application by real world testing and certification to globally recognized IEC standard,” said Mike Davis, Chief Revenue Officer at Green Cubes. “Lithium Guardian Batteries were designed to operate with a wide range of equipment; from radios, routers, to HVAC, our batteries must work. Achieving IEC 62368 assures customers that these batteries will provide power to their equipment safely and reliably.”

IEC 62368 is an internationally recognized standard to verify safety and reliability of electronic devices in telecom applications. The Green Cubes GBU has been evaluated by engineers and tested in the lab to ensure that when integrated in operator systems the battery will remain safe and not adversely affect other equipment. Previously, the Lithium Guardian 3U battery has been tested and certified to UN 38.3 for international shipping. The Guardian Lithium Batteries are currently under evaluation with multiple industrial and telecommunication operators. Commercial shipments are scheduled for December 2022.

To learn more about the Guardian Product family and the Lithium Guardian batteries visit: https://greencubes.com/products/batteries/

About Green Cubes Technology

Green Cubes Technology develops and manufactures safe and reliable electrification solutions that enable its OEM and enterprise customers to transition from Lead Acid and Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) power to Lithium-ion battery power. Green Cubes utilizes proven hardware and software platforms to build the most reliable Lithium power solutions in its industries. With over 300 employees across six countries, Green Cubes has been producing innovative, high-performance and high-quality power solutions since 1986.

Green Cubes Technology Announces Swappable Industrial Battery for Mobile Workstation and Motive Product Manufacturers

Swappable Mobile Power (SMP) portfolio enables the electrification of mobile and motive products with swappable battery technology

KOKOMO, IND. November 17, 2022 – Green Cubes Technology (Green Cubes), the leader in producing Lithium-ion power systems that facilitate the transition from lead-acid batteries and Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) power to green Lithium-ion battery power, today announced its Swappable Mobile Power (SMP) portfolio. The SMP portfolio enables manufacturers to electrify their mobile and motive products utilizing swappable batteries with the leading Lithium-ion battery chemistry. At the center of the portfolio, the Swappable Industrial Battery (Industrial Swappable Battery-1000) offers one of the highest Watt-Hour ratings for swappable Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries on the market today.

Optimized for operator ergonomics and “hot” swapping of portable batteries, the SMP portfolio of products enables the electrification of non-powered mobile carts, such as industrial, medical or educational workstations. Additionally, multiple Swappable Industrial Batteries can be connected to power motive products with high torque requirements, such as Automated Mobile Robots (AMR), pallet jacks, or motorized sleds.

“Green Cubes pioneered the use of swappable batteries for mobile medical workstations and is the market leader in the production of swappable batteries for mobile industrial workstations,” said Mike Davis, Chief Revenue Officer for Green Cubes. “The Swappable Industrial Battery enables mobile workstation and motive product manufacturers to enhance the capabilities of their products and diversify their product line. This includes the electrification of non-powered workstations and motive products, as well as expanding the range of IT devices supported on existing powered workstations.”

The Swappable Industrial Battery is a 48 Volt, 20 Amp-Hour, 1000-Watt Lithium Iron Phosphate battery that offers exceptionally stable voltage under load, high capacity and power delivery in a small lightweight form factor. In addition to its ergonomic and ruggedized design, the watertight battery has an Ingress Protection (IP) rating of 65, which is optimized for both indoor and outdoor environments. Agency and safety approvals include UN 38.3 and IEC 62133.

To complement the Swappable Industrial Battery, the SMP portfolio has a suite of accessories to complete the integration with mobile workstations and motive products, including a battery receiver, power distribution electronics, AC/DC power supplies for charging and DC/AC power inverters to power mobile IT devices.

The SMP products are currently being evaluated by educational and industrial equipment manufacturers and their enterprise customers. Commercial availability is scheduled for the first quarter of 2023.

The Swappable Industrial Battery can deliver 1000 Watts to power mobile and motive equipment.

To learn more about the Swappable Mobile Power (SMP) portfolio; https://greencubes.com/product/industrial-battery-swib-1000/

About Green Cubes Technology

Green Cubes Technology develops and manufactures safe and reliable electrification solutions that enable its OEM and enterprise customers to transition from Lead Acid and Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) power to Lithium-ion battery power. Green Cubes utilizes proven hardware and software platforms to build the most reliable Lithium power solutions in its industries. With over 300 employees across six countries, Green Cubes has been producing innovative, high-performance and high-quality power solutions since 1986.

Future-Proofing Your Fleet: Long term Viability of Li-ion Technology in the Material Handling Industry and Ground Support Equipment Industries

Forklift Battery Manufacturers

For nearly two decades, I have focused on battery technology and the battery industry. I have a PhD from The University of Texas at Austin, where I studied with John Goodenough, who won the Nobel Prize for inventing the Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery. When I was in graduate school, in the late 90 and early 2000s, Li-ion batteries were not yet used commercially; laptop computers were powered by NiMH batteries and NiCd powered tools, camcorders and remote-control cars. GM had a robust research program on electric vehicles, which was ultimately canceled in 2002 because of poor market acceptance. No one knew which technology would power the emerging consumer electronics market- most thought NiMH batteries would stay as the default and big companies invested in everything from fuel cells to MEMs fly-wheels.

The Beginning of the Li-ion Battery Industry

Then, a number of key innovations resolved some of the safety concerns about Li-ion batteries, SONY commercialized the first Li-ion cells and the die was cast. Nearly all laptops were powered by Li-ion batteries within just a few years, and Li-ion batteries enabled cell phones which came on the market a bit later. The sheer volume of these two applications, enabled the market Li-ion battery market itself to mature, so that now nearly everything that needs portable or back-up power uses Li-ion. The only exception to this adoption is long term legacy lead acid stationary back up power and heavy equipment motive applications, like material handling and ground support equipment. Lead acid still has a lower up front cost and these applications don’t really benefit from the size and weight advantages of Li-ion batteries.

What will Happen Next in the Li-ion Battery Industry?

As motive applications like material handling and ground support equipment become the last hold outs for an older technology with a decidedly poorer environmental profile, I believe that we will see total costs for lead acid batteries increase. The infrastructure that is built up around the lead acid market (recycling, etc.) will shift to support the Li-ion battery industry. Li-ion batteries will have more suppliers and more diverse product offerings, more competition and more supply chain redundancy. Adjacent technology for Li-ion will improve and manufacturing methods will gain efficiencies. The US government is already beginning to invest heavily in strategic, domestic Li-ion manufacturing. When the governments of leading countries can start to ban and regulate Lead Acid, they will. In fact, RoHS and other regulations have specific call-outs for lead in batteries just because there has not been a viable alternative, until now. China has already begun to take drastic steps to completely ban lead acid battery manufacturing. Lead acid manufacturing will likely be only in far-away places with inexpensive labor and poor environmental regulations and high shipping and import costs. In the industry, there is no more debate about if Li-ion batteries will overtake Lead acid, the question is more when and how. The volume of Li-ion batteries being produced will be an advantage to the material handling and ground support industries long term, rather than a risk.

Will a New Technology Replace Li-ion Batteries?

The conversion of the entire industry from lead acid to Li-ion will be long, so you may wonder if there will be another, new technology that will leapfrog it, and my prediction is that there will not. Inventions in this science are very slow and tend to be incremental; it has taken China 25 years to get its mature Li-ion battery industry. If there were something coming up behind Li-ion batteries, it would already be far into development. I do believe that fuel cells will be a key part of the new zero carbon fleets, but they will replace ICE primarily and co-exist with Li-ion battery powered trucks. Because hydrogen infrastructure requirements are similar to gas and oil, it will likely be ten years before this technology is commonly available. In summary, Li-ion battery technology is going to be the de-facto standard in material handling and ground support equipment in the near future.

Green Cubes Technology Announces New System Controller for Guardian DC Power Systems

Guardian Central Controller monitors and controls all system parameters for Guardian Lithium-ion batteries and rectifiers as a Power System

KOKOMO, IND. June 22, 2022 – Green Cubes Technology (Green Cubes), the leader in producing Lithium-ion power systems that facilitate the transition from lead acid batteries and Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) power to green Lithium-ion battery power, today announced shipping of the Guardian Central Controller (GCC) to accompany its Guardian family of Lithium-ion Battery Backup Units for stationary rack mount installations in the Telecom and Data Center industries.

Utilizing new hardware, the intelligent system controller boasts new features to support mission-critical customer needs including:

  • IPv6 native support
  • Dynamic IP address configuration
  • RS-485 MODBUS communication interface
  • Lithium-ion and VRLA Battery support
  • Guardian Battery Unit communications
  • SNMP Interface for seamless integration
  • Simple Ethernet connection for remote monitoring
  • Web or standalone PC application programming support

“The GCC is a compact intelligent system controller module that provides monitoring and control for a broad range of DC power systems deployed with Lithium-ion or legacy battery technology,” said Jeffrey VanZwol, Chief Marketing Officer for Green Cubes. “The GCC monitors all system parameters including DC voltage, rectifier current, rectifier temperature, system capacity, battery parameters, and circuit breaker status. The GCC provides uniform and universal management of our new line of Guardian Battery Back-up Units, Guardian rectifiers, third-party batteries, and other third-party ancillary systems.”

Alarm and warning notifications are indicated by front panel LEDs and through alarm contacts that allow remote signaling. External monitoring of alarms and system is accomplished through a USB or RS-232 port using PC-based PowCom™ software. Additionally, the GCC has an Ethernet port allowing control over a TCP/IP network and web-based support. SNMP Events and alarms can be integrated with customer OSS (Operation Support System) platforms.

For individual site conditions, the GCC supports programmable logic to monitor and control environmental and security conditions within the Telecom or Data Center. The GCC can monitor and control ancillary analog systems such as cabinet door alarms, temperature monitors, security and HVAC systems.

This announcement follows the release of the company’s Guardian family of Lithium-ion Battery Backup Units, announced late last year. Telecom and Data Center industries are required to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to support mission critical functions. These stationary applications require battery backup solutions that are reliable, safe and cost effective. Relative to traditional centralized Lead Acid back-up solutions, the Guardian family of Lithium-ion batteries from Green Cubes will support these same applications at a fraction of the weight, size and total cost of ownership.

The Guardian family consists of three sizes, ranging from 2 Rack Unit (RU) to 4 RU heights, fit in both 19” or 23” cabinets and support capacity ranges from 105 Ahr to 175 Ahr. The Guardian batteries provide a nominal 48 Volts output and will both charge and discharge up to 100 Amps. All Guardian batteries have active thermal management and embedded energy balancing technology to build scalable power systems for Telecom and Data Center applications.

About Green Cubes Technology

Green Cubes Technology develops and manufactures safe and reliable electrification solutions that enable its OEM and enterprise customers to transition from Lead Acid and Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) power to Lithium-ion battery power. Green Cubes utilizes proven hardware and software platforms to build the most reliable Lithium power solutions in its industries. With over 300 employees across six countries, Green Cubes has been producing innovative, high-performance and high-quality power solutions since 1986.

Green Cubes Technology Expands Executive Team

Industry Leader Expects Accelerated Growth from Continued Demand for Industrial Electrification

KOKOMO, IND. May 19, 2022 – Green Cubes Technology, a leader in electrification and clean, connected, cost-effective power solutions, today announced four significant executive appointments to its leadership team – Ken Gregory as Vice President of Supply Chain and Procurement, Alan Forster as Vice President of Sales for Americas, Rita Faunce as Vice President of Sales Operations and Customer Experience, and Rocio Castellanos as International Controller. These executives join Ken Johnson, who was appointed Chief Operating Officer (COO) last year. The team will provide leadership to sales, supply chain, operations, manufacturing, and customer support functions for continued growth within Motive (including Ground Support & Materials Handling), Stationary (Telecom & Data Center), and Mobile (Industrial Automation) Power market segments.

“We’re very pleased to add so many talented professionals to Green Cubes’ executive team,” said Keith Washington, CEO of Green Cubes Technology. “This reflects the rapid growth of the company, and the leadership that each of these individuals bring to the company will help us continue to lead the charge to electrification.”

Mr. Gregory has a history of success with enterprise operations and transformation, customer experience, supply chain and channel/alliance sales across enterprise and consumer Information Technology, Education and Learning organizations. He has driven sustainable cultural and digital transformations in highly matrixed organizations resulting in increased revenue, enhanced customer confidence, organizational capability, and employee engagement. He brings over 25 years of core supply chain experience gained at IBM supporting its enterprise computer hardware segments. Mr. Gregory’s most recent experiences were at Pearson, a global leader in learning and education where he oversaw customer service and digital operations transformation.

Mr. Forster is responsible for managing and accelerating Green Cubes’ pipeline and revenue growth while developing its channel and sales enablement programs. In his recent role as Sales Director for the company’s Telecom and Data Center business unit (operating as Unipower), he helped rebuild sales and channel relationships, managed consistent quarterly growth, and increased sales channel coverage during the global pandemic. By working diligently with the Unipower team, he doubled bookings and revenue during a global supply chain and transportation slow down.

Ms. Faunce directs Green Cubes’ sales operations teams globally, drives its customer experience strategy, and will facilitate ownership of customer experience excellence. She has vast experience managing global teams in sales operations, customer service, and customer satisfaction with success in delivering customer facing programs that foster a spirit of transparency, continuous improvement, and mutual accountability in customer relationships. Ms. Faunce will implement continuous improvement plans, leverage customer insights and data, and work across multiple departments to ensure team members and leadership are aware of and dedicated to the goals of continuously improving the customer experience.

Ms. Castellanos joins Green Cubes as a key member of the global finance and accounting team. She is responsible for the internal and external financial reporting of all Green Cubes affiliated entities outside the U.S. In her role, she will support the entities in financial reporting topics and bridge the information to the U.S. headquarters. She will focus on continuous improvement of processes and deliverables to enhance financial performance visibility across the entities, as well as act as a strategic business advisor for International Operations. Ms. Castellanos brings over 20 years of experience and has worked for various companies including PwC, Swiss Life and Daniel Swarovski Corp.

The expansion of Green Cubes’ executive team follows the company’s announcement last year that it added a second 36,000 square foot domestic facility in Kokomo, Indiana, and expanded its product lines for Motive and Stationary Power to support accelerated growth in Material Handling and Telecom markets. The Kokomo facility is currently increasing its manufacturing throughput and is expecting a 150% increase in Motive Power shipments in 2022, relative to 2021. Additionally, Green Cubes previously announced that it established two new facilities in Europe and a Technology Center in Zurich, Switzerland.

About Green Cubes Technology

Green Cubes Technology develops and manufactures safe and reliable electrification solutions that enable its OEM and enterprise customers to transition from Lead Acid and Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) power to Lithium-ion battery power. Green Cubes utilizes proven hardware and software platforms to build the most reliable Lithium power solutions in its industries. With a global footprint across six countries, Green Cubes has been producing innovative, high-performance and high-quality power solutions since 1986.

GSE Expo Europe

GSE Expo Europe offers exclusive insight on the latest equipment innovations and strategies to optimize GSE deployment. Key focuses include autonomous vehicles, more sustainable equipment and latest safety advances. GSE Expo Europe has been designed by world-leading manufacturers representing IAEMA in partnership with GHI.

Green Cubes Technology Announces Membership in CircuBAT Research Program

KOKOMO, INDIANA March 31, 2022 – Green Cubes Technology, a leader in electrification and Lithium power solutions, today announced its participation as a founding member in CircuBAT. CircuBAT is a Swiss research program that aims to create a Swiss circular business model for the production, application, and recycling of Lithium-ion batteries. Seven Swiss research institutions and 24 companies are joining forces to look for ways to boost sustainability in all stages of a battery’s life cycle.  

CircuBAT will focus on finding solutions that boost sustainability in all phases of a Lithium-ion battery’s life cycle. This will include extending the lifespan of batteries during their first application. Researchers hope to achieve this by developing optimal charging and discharging strategies as well as new concepts for battery construction that make repairs easy. The project also aims to put batteries to use as stationary energy storage systems after they are retired from their first mobility-related application. To that end, CircuBAT will look at the best ways of integrating these batteries at a local level and ensuring their safe and efficient operation. Finally, the researchers will look for solutions for remanufacturing batteries and recovering materials that enable large quantities of high-quality secondary raw materials to be used to produce new batteries.

Bern University of Applied Sciences BFH is the Leading House in the CircuBAT project. On the science side, an additional six Swiss research institutions are involved in the project: Empa, the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM), the University of St. Gallen (HSG), the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences (OST), the Switzerland Innovation Park Biel / Bienne (SIPBB) and the EPFL (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology). These institutions are joined by 24 companies from economy and industry, among them Kyburz, LeClanche, Buhler and Green Cubes Technology.

As a founding member of CircuBAT, Green Cubes Technology has made a multi-year financial investment in the program. The company will also contribute first-use lithium-ion batteries for experimentation and testing within the program, provide engineering design services to develop new more-efficient batteries, and contribute intellectual property to achieve the objectives of CircuBAT.

Green Cubes Technology will participate in two working groups. The “First Use” group will focus on extending the life of first-use batteries through extensive analysis of deployed batteries in the field. Green Cubes Technology will contribute performance data collected from its prolific installed base of Lithium-ion batteries. The “Second Life” group will focus on creating second-use and second-life opportunities to minimize the total CO2 footprint of lithium-ion battery systems during their lifetime.

Since its inception 30 years ago, Green Cubes Technology has gained considerable experience minimizing the environmental impact of its deployed batteries. This positive impact will be amplified with a system of second life batteries, where the installed base of first use batteries is redeployed when they reach a certain age limit. The Lithium-ion cells used in Green Cubes Technology’s batteries are non-toxic, and are currently recycled and reprocessed at their end of life. Going forward, these cells can be repurposed into less demanding second life applications such as backup energy storage.

“We joined the CircuBAT research program because its mission is very well aligned with ours,” said Keith Washington, CEO of Green Cubes Technology. “We all want the same thing and that is a circular economy for Lithium-ion batteries. We are looking forward to sharing our experience, and giving electric mobility batteries a second life with our Swiss partners in the CircuBAT research program, as they strive to make the Swiss economy as sustainable as possible”.

More information on the research program can be found on its website: https://circubat.ch/

About Green Cubes Technology

Green Cubes Technology develops and manufactures safe and reliable electrification solutions that enable its OEM and enterprise customers to transition from Lead Acid and Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) power to Lithium-ion battery power. Green Cubes utilizes proven hardware and software platforms to build the most reliable Lithium power solutions in its industries. With over 300 employees across six countries, Green Cubes has been producing innovative, high-performance and high-quality power solutions since 1986.

Ramp Equipment News: Lead-Acid vs Lithium-ion Batteries

Jerry Crump, Director of Business Development, GSE for Green Cubes, compares the merits of using Lithium-ion batteries to Lead-Acid batteries in electric GSE.

With the emergence of more and more electric Ground Support Equipment (eGSE), there is potential for great savings in Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) versus Internal Combustion engines (ICE) and Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are rapidly replacing Flooded Lead Acid (FLA) as the preferred technology for similar reasons. In comparing Lead-Acid batteries versus Li-ion it is important to understand the hidden infrastructure costs for Lead.

For FLA, maintenance costs need to be accounted for along with battery watering and equalisation cycles that need to be tracked in order to ensure that warranties were complied with. FLA can also emit hydrogen when charging due to heating, so it needs to be charged in a properly ventilated space for safety. On the ramp, this is not usually an issue because there is typically enough air flow to allow for any off-gassing to dissipate; however, this can be an issue in
enclosed spaces, such as baggage rooms or battery rooms for equipment charging. In these areas, costly ventilation systems need to be utilised to ensure that the off-gassing during charging does not cause hydrogen buildups.

Read the complete article in Ramp Equipment News

Airport Industry Review: Li-Ion Batteries Offer Safe, Efficient, Green Power for eGSEs

Jerry Crump, director of GSE business development at Green Cubes Technology, highlights the benefits of lithium-ion batteries for ground support equipment in airports.

Though electric ground support equipment (eGSE) is not a new technology on our airport ramps, it is constantly evolving and is not without challenges – particularly when it comes to implementing the energy needed for eGSE to effectively support airport operations.

Airlines, ground handling companies, and fixed-base operators can utilise new lithium-ion technologies, such as lithium iron phosphate, maximising the available power from their charging infrastructure to keep up with airline and airfield operations and the high power demand curve of certain eGSE’s – like cargo loaders and pushbacks.

Read the complete article in Airport Industry Review