Tag Archives: Material Handling

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.

Recap of The Battery Show in Novi, Michigan 2022

Overview

Listed below are interesting announcements and observations from our team that was deployed to The Battery Show last week in Novi, Michigan.  We want to provide the entire battery community with trends and new announcements that may influence their product and partner choices in industrial electrification.  This year, the crowds were crazy, which lead to many queues for basic necessities such as parking and on-site food.  

https://www.thebatteryshow.com/en/home.html

Echotec

EcoTech announces and displayed their new 5 kW Ecopoint HF1 motive Li-ion battery charger.  It has an efficient High Frequency single phase input of standard 190 thru 240 VAC input voltage range, and near unity (0.99) power factor.  Great charger for palate jack batteries, walkie batteries and AGV batteries.  And as always, Ecotech is one of the few motive chargers that has most of their products in stock.  https://ecotecbatcharger.com

To learn about Green Cubes’ similar Li-ion battery charger go to: https://greencubes.com/product/lithium-safeflex-chargers-fbc-series/

Phihong

Phihong is one of the leading OEM/ODM EV battery chargers in Asia.  Their products include Level 3 DC charger ranging for 30 kW to 480 kW, and Level 2 AC charger ranging from 32 to 80 Amps.  They had an impressive array of motive Li-ion battery chargers and EV Li-ion battery chargers on display in their booth.  OEM Chargers on display included chargers they developed for Shell, Bosch, Audi, Jaguar, and Taiwan Cement Corporation.  https://www.phihong.com/ev-chargers/

Lithion

Lithion manufactures the Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) Valence brand of modules and battery packs, formerly manufactured by Valence Corporation.  Along with the array of 12V, 24V, and 36V standard format batteries offered by Lithion, tucked away in a small corner of the booth, they did have samples of their new LFP cylindrical cells.  Although I did not measure the size of the cells, presumably they will offer 26650 format cells.  Looking forward to the production release of these cells next year.  https://www.lithionbattery.com/

To learn about Green Cubes’ standard format LFP batteries go to: https://greencubes.com/products/batteries/

East Penn and Navitas

East Penn had an impressive array of the Deka brand of Flooded Lead Acid (FLA), Sealed Lead Acid (SLA), sealed gel, TPPL batteries on display in their booth.  And a portion of the booth was allocated for the Navitas brand of motive batteries, which are being rebranded as Deka Ready Power batteries.  It is interesting that East Penn attends an EV trade show with lead acid batteries. It makes you wonder how committed they are to embracing lithium-ion batteries, or are they trying to delay the inevitable ?  https://www.eastpennmanufacturing.com/

CATL

CATL partner CSI had a wide variety of EV components on display. This included many pre-engineered Li-ion battery packs to fit any number of applications, over 300 types I was told by their Sales team. They also offer many automotive components that have been sourced and customized to seamlessly integrate with their battery packs, making EV’s much easier and faster to design. They didn’t have any Sodium Ion batteries (SIB) on display, but did mention that CATL is working on this next generation chemistry. http://www.coulombsolutions.com/ 

EVE

One of the premier Li-ion battery cell vendors EVE had a large booth and an even larger presence on the floor. EVE was showing off their impressive line of LiFePO4 Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) chemistry cells, and battery modules. EVE continues to grow their presence in North America as a quality cell and battery manufacturer. https://www.evebatteryusa.com/

LithiumWerks

An exciting showing for LithiumWerks, as they have just recently been acquired by a firm out of India, Reliance. They are producing two very powerful cylindrical cells, with high discharge rates, and excellent cycle life. Reliance is the largest Energy conglomerate in India, and LithiumWerks is poised to provide energy storage to the global market. https://lithiumwerks.com/

To learn about the difference between NMC and LFP go to: https://greencubes.com/about-us/types-of-lithium/

Energy Assurance

With all the new Li-ion cell and Li-ion battery vendors at the show, there were some excellent testing partners to help with qualification. Aside from the normal Intertek, UL, SGS labs, there was Energy Assurance at the show, who operates multiple labs across the US, including the old A123 facility in Massachusetts. With impressive testing capabilities, a new 20,000 sqft lab and a focus on customers Energy Assurance will be growing in the next years for sure. https://www.energy-assurance.com/

Opportunity Charging Enabled by Fast Charging MultiVoltage Batteries

Overview

Opportunity charging is a practice applicable to both Lead Acid and Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries for motive power systems and especially useful for Material Handling (MH) equipment. These practices can be applied to all classes of MH equipment from small pallet jacks to 4 wheel forklifts to large turret trucks. Fast charging is a key differentiator for Lithium-ion batteries. Because the chemistry allows fast charging without damaging cycle life, Our Lithium SAFEFlex Li-ion batteries can be charged opportunistically during breaks and don’t require battery swaps. However, typical fast charging requires very high currents and two cables to accommodate the current with larger capacity batteries. Green Cubes Techology’s MultiVoltage SAFEFlex battery can be charged at twice the voltage, so dual cables are unnecessary and they can be charged in half the time.

The MultiVoltage SAFEFlex battery can be charged at twice the voltage, so they can be charged in half the time, bringing opportunity charging to the next level of convenience.

Charging Lead Acid batteries

For optimal cycle and calendar life of FLA batteries, manufacturers recommend that the daily cycle for batteries consist of:

  • discharging the batteries fully
  • charging at a C/5 rate
  • resting for an eight hour cool down period
  • equalize the battery on a weekly basis

Each battery experiences one full charge and discharge cycle per day. This conventional charge/ discharge regimen is reinforced by FLA battery manufacturers through warranties. With this maintenance one can expect to receive 500-1000 cycles from their FLA batteries before they start to experience permanent capacity fade.

FLA batteries can be opportunity charged (typically 25 Amps per 100 Amp-Hour or C/4 rate) and fast charged (typically up to 50 Amps per 100 Amp- Hour or C/2 rate), but these unconventional FLA charge regimens shorten or violate the manufacturer warranties.

The implication of this is that each piece of equipment used on a single shift may need one or two batteries for each vehicle. If the enterprise operates a multi-shift operation, then more than one battery is required per vehicle. So, at a minimum, multi-shift operations dictate a battery swap when the shift changes or the batteries need to be replaced more frequently than the warrantee period.

Charging Li-ion Batteries

Li-ion batteries are preferably charged using a Constant Current / Constant Voltage (CC/CV) charge regimen, but most MH equipment batteries are designed to accept both CC/CV and FLA charge regimens. Regardless of the state-of-charge of the battery when connected to the charger, the battery will efficiently accept the power and increase its state-ofcharge. Whether the battery has been connected to the charger for 15 minutes or two hours, that battery can be immediately discharged and used by the MH equipment as there is no need to cool or rest a Li-ion battery after charging.

The Li-ion cell chemistry has numerous chemical variants. Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) chemistry is the predominant chemistry used to power MH equipment: LFP features:

  • exceptionally long cycle life (2000 – 4000 cycle to reach 80% of the original capacity)
  • high power capabilities for both charge and discharge
  • lower energy/density than other Li-ion variants.

The long cycle life means an LFP battery can be installed and remain in the equipment for 8-10 years. More importantly, since LFP chemistry can accommodate high power delivered to and from the battery, a depleted LFP battery can accept a full charge in a little over one hour (i.e. 1 C rate) and it can be charged throughout the shift when the operator has a break or lunch. Li-ion is the optimal chemistry for opportunity charging.

SAFEFlex MultiVoltage Batteries

Lithium SAFEFlex is a comprehensive battery solution designed to meet the cost, performance, efficiency and durability requirements of the rugged warehouse environment. It includes application-specific cell chemistry and intelligent battery management electronics. Lithium SafeFlex battery systems are high cycle life maintenance free solutions for industrial vehicles with fully customizable features to fulfill the most demanding requirements. The drop in replacement batteries make upgrading from Lead Acid to Lithium simple. The batteries are sized to fit the standard motive power lead acid battery, along with meeting the truck battery weight requirements.

MultiVoltage technology enables the battery to charge at double its output voltage, which cuts charging time in half and makes opportunity charging a more accessible option with simplicity and ease of use for the operator. The MultiVoltage battery completes a full charge in less than one hour and is offered in 24/48V, 36/72V and
48/96V combinations.

Green Cubes has deployed over 200 MultiVoltage batteries across these three different voltage combinations. It is common for high use and high capacity batteries, such as a large 48V battery, to be charged with two cables to increase the charge current. The MultiVoltage battery utilizes a single connector 4/0 cabling, which delivers cost efficiencies and minimizes the chance of cable damage over traditional fast charging with dual cables. Other than the battery configuration itself, the MultiVoltage battery uses standard chargers and requires no changes to the equipment.

Features of SAFEFlex MultiVoltage Batteries

Ease of Use

  • 30 kWh, 48V 600Ahr battery can be full charged in less than 1 hour at 320 amps
  • Configurable dot matrix battery discharge indicator provides critical battery information along with errors or other important runtime data
  • No change to truck required, CAN communication for lithium ready equipment
  • Utilizes existing 4/0 cabling
  • No Maintenance
  • No Watering
  • No Equalization Charging
  • No Battery Washing Needed

Safety & Protection

  • Utilizes Lithium Iron Phosphate battery chemistry for increased safety and stability
  • Voltage, Current, and Temperatures are continuously monitored by Green Cubes Technology’s custom Battery Management System (BMS) which controls the internal safety contactors or disconnects the fuse
  • Constructed from UL approved components

Energy Savings

  • Recharge efficiency of 98% or higher helps save electricity and minimal energy loss to internal heating extends battery life
  • Improvements in runtime capacity efficiency of 10% or higher
  • Charging at 2X voltage reduces power loss from component impedances

Flexible Design for Optimized Truck Applications

  • Green Cubes Custom Battery Management System (BMS) offers over 100 parameters that can be adjusted for performance based upon the application.
    • High Current Trucks with Accessories
    • Low Temperature Storage Operations
    • High Cycle Opportunity Charging
  • Fully ballasted battery for heavy counterbalance trucks or non- ballasted batteries for light applications
  • Exceptional charge management controlled by battery BMS is ready for CAN enabled chargers to further improve charge efficiency

Best Practices to Exploit Opportunity Charging

  1. Do a power study where the battery activity is monitored. Based on the data, one can determine whether there are adequate opportunities for charging throughout the shift. If there is no down-time for the equipment throughout the shift, then the batteries will need to be charged for an hour before the shift.
  2. Single shift vs. multi-shift operations can determine the value of opportunity charging. If the enterprise operates a single shift operation, a fully charged Li-ion (or FLA) battery should power that vehicle through the shift. When a second (or third) shift is needed, then opportunity charging can be used to recharge in increments and ensure that the equipment is powered through all the shifts.
  3. Rather than charging FLA batteries in a centralized battery maintenance room, distributed the Li-ion charging stations near break rooms and heavy work areas. Decentralized charging stations eliminate the operator’s travel time from their work area to battery maintenance room as well.
  4. Assess existing FLA chargers to determine if they are compatible with the Li-ion batteries.
  5. Assess the power output of the existing FLA and Li-ion charging infrastructure. The the power rating on the charger must be much higher when opportunity charging.
  6. Consider a multi-voltage battery if opportunity charging is desired but there is not adequate down-time within a shift.

MultiVoltage Battery Benefits

  • High Cycle Life
  • True Fast Charge / Opportunity Charge
  • Drop In Lead Acid Replacement
  • Passive balancing while in use equals NO DOWN TIME
  • Standard charger cabling (single 4/0) with charging amperage of 320 amps
  • Cuts out the expense of extra cables
  • Reduce chance of cable damage

Applications

  • Forklifts / Pallet Jacks
  • AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle)
  • Ground Support Equipment
  • Industrial Electric Vehicles

Industries

  • Distribution Centers
  • Cold Storage
  • Food and Beverage
  • Pharmaceutical Warehousing

ABOUT GREEN CUBES TECHNOLOGY

Green Cubes Technology develops and manufactures a complete portfolio of lithium power systems 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 battery systems in its industries. With over 300 employees across six countries, Green Cubes has been producing innovative, high-performance and high-quality products since 1986. For more information, email info@greencubestech.com or visit greencubestech.com.

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.

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.

Green Cubes Technology Announces Motive Battery Charger Product Line

KOKOMO, INDIANA March 15, 2022 – Green Cubes Technology (Green Cubes) introduces the Lithium SAFEFlex Chargers to complement its market leading Lithium SAFEFlex Batteries. Green Cubes is the only manufacturer to offer enterprises both Lithium-ion batteries and affiliated chargers to the Material Handling industry, thus simplifying the electrification of Material Handling equipment. These chargers are offered in 15 Kilowatt (kW) and 30 kW models. Each model supports up to three simultaneous charging ports and performs voltage auto-detect for each of the charging ports. Efficient charging of multiple trucks lowers utility costs for enterprise customers.  

Material Handling Charger available in 15kW & 30 kW models
with 1, 2 or 3 outputs

Green Cubes’ state-of-the-art Lithium SAFEFlex chargers employ high-frequency battery charging technology for the most compact and efficient design, as well as the widest voltage range available on the market today. Multiple outputs and automatic voltage detection via CAN communication enable simultaneous charging of multiple trucks with a single utility connection. The chargers have universal AC power input, a touchscreen display and remote management with embedded Internet of Things (IoT) that provides real-time performance information of each charge session with a battery. Local and remote administrative staff can review and manage charger/truck integration and overall fleet performance in real-time.  

3 output model shown here with cables and accessories

“Green Cubes is leading the charge in the electrification of Material Handling equipment,” said Jeffrey VanZwol, Chief Marketing Officer of Green Cubes. “We continue to innovate and offer disruptive products that not only offer superior total cost of ownership, but also minimize the environmental footprint for our enterprise customers.”  

“We are excited to offer a more comprehensive power solution for our customers and partners,” explains Robin Schneider, Director of Marketing. “The modular design allows an entire fleet, from 24V pallet jacks to 80V forklifts, to be serviced with a single charger product that delivers opportunity charging around the clock.” 

Lithium SAFEFlex Chargers are available in 15 and 30 kW models with 1, 2 or 3 outputs to charge 24, 36, 48, 72, 80 and 96 Volt Lithium-ion batteries.  The operating temperature range from -4F to 122F allows for operation in a wide range of environments.   Green Cubes will highlight its complete portfolio of Lithium power solutions for the Material Handling industry, including the Lithium SAFEFlex Chargers and Lithium-ion batteries, at Modex 2022 in booth B7229.  Additionally, Green Cubes will present the future of Lithium power solutions at the event titled, “From the State-of-the-Art to the Future of Lithium-ion Power for Industrial Trucks” on Wednesday, March 30 at 10:30 in Theater H.

To learn more about the chargers visit  https://greencubestech.com/product/lithium-safeflex-chargers-fbc-series/ or watch the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VELZJeX3vNI.

The New Warehouse: EP 252: Battery Talk 2022

A podcast hosted by Kevin Lawton.

On this episode I was joined by not one but five guests! I call this one battery talk Robin Schneider of Green Cubes joins Kevin Lawton, Harold Vanasse of Enersys, John Gelsimino of Arcon Equipment, David Suarez of One Charge and Chris French of PowerBattUSA for a podcast discussion on the current state of batteries in the material handling industry including challenges with lithium-ion and sustainability of lithium-ion.

Listen to the podcast at The New Warehouse.

Material Handling Wholesaler: Lithium-ion Threatens Lead-Acid Batteries Dominance in Material Handling

For decades, lead-acid batteries were one of the only games in town as a source of power for material handling equipment such as forklifts and pallet jacks. But rapid advances in technology are fueling a broader playing field, with options that now include lithium-ion batteries, thin plate pure lead batteries, repurposed lithium-ion products, and an additive that can double the life of lead-acid batteries.

Warehouse managers, meanwhile, simply want a power source that is affordable, maintenance free and requires zero downtime. To be sure, lead acid is still the dominant battery in use in material handling equipment, primarily because of its affordability.

It’s also easier just to keep the status quo, said Maxim Khabur, marketing director at One Charge of Garden Grove, Calif. “The change requires energy and a capacity to embrace risk, so once the first-comers seize the most benefits, the rest have to follow after they realize they are losing on cost and effectiveness of operations,” Khabur said. “The change in charging pattern calls for new small chargers to be installed around the facility instead of getting them all into a ventilated charging room (not needed anymore), and however small the change is, it presents an argument for “not changing anything.”

Read the complete article starting page 6 in Material Handling Wholesaler – Feb 2022

March 2022 – BevOps Fleet Summit

The 15th annual BevOps Fleet Summit offers a learning and information sharing experience for warehousing, distribution and fleet management professionals who will have the opportunity to continue to share ideas and network with their industry peers in a safe and productive format as we continue to navigate these challenging times. In addition to in-depth educational sessions, inspiring keynotes and interactive networking opportunities, the 2022 BevOps Fleet Summit also features a newly expanded focus on the warehousing and delivery trends impacting the snack and dairy markets.

On March 24th at 3:30 p.m., Green Cubes will provide a brief overview of new Li-ion technology, factors to consider when migrating from traditional lead acid technology, and how to best implement Li-ion power within beverage warehousing distribution material handling equipment fleets for optimal, successful performance.