Business
Toyota Material Handling Europe and Plug Power, supply partners of STEF, to bring cutting-edge hydrogen forklift and hydrogen fuel cell solutions to two of its cold storage distribution centers, in France and Spain
SLINGERLANDS, N.Y., April 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- STEF Group, European leader in transport and logistics services for temperature-controlled food
About this update from Plug Power, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"SLINGERLANDS, N.Y., April 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- STEF Group, European leader in transport and logistics services for temperature-controlled food products, has recently launched two hydrogen projects with Toyota Material Handling Europe, a supplier of hydrogen fuel cell material handling equipment, and Plug Power, a provider of end-to-end green hydrogen solutions. The two projects are located in Athis-Mons, France and Torrejón de Ardoz, Spain. This initiative marks a significant step towards developing a comprehensive hydrogen ecosystem that integrates H2 production and H2-powered material handling equipment. Focus on the two hydrogen projects STEF is incorporating green hydrogen to power its forklift at two of its sites: a transport platform in Athis-Mons close to Paris, France, and a logistics warehouse in Torrejón de Ardoz, near Madrid, Spain. The project in France uses green H2 produced with renewable energy and delivered on site. In Spain, the H2 is produced on site using an electrolyser - a device that uses electricity to separate water into hydrogen and oxygen. The electricity to power the electrolyser is generated by the 2.9 MWp photovoltaic rooftop plant, enabling consumption of green and locally produced Hydrogen. The benefits of hydrogen for forklift By using hydrogen fuel cell technology, STEF can potentially improve its forklift operator productivity. Hydrogen fuel cells offer particularly good performance under STEF's operating conditions (from -18° to +4°): increased operational productivity over a longer period, unlike conventional batteries. Hydrogen-powered forklifts can be quickly refilled, in less than 3 minutes, reducing the risk of accidents associated with lead-acid battery change. They also offer more comfort to STEF’s collaborators in trans dock activities. On average, a hydrogen fuel cell lasts 10 years, twice as long as traditional batteries. Contributing to reducing the environmental impact across the product lifecycle. Hydrogen as an energy carrier and fuel cells as a power solution offer many advantages when it comes to material handling operations and they can support the roadmap to decarbonise material handling operations. These two projects are part of STEF's Moving Green climate initiative, one of whose objectives is to use 100% low-carbon energy in their buildings by the end of 2025. Toyot...