BMW Manufacturing Co., in Spartanburg, SC, is kicking off production of the all-new X3 by using material-handling equipment powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
Fuel cells take stored chemical energy – in this case, hydrogen – and convert it into electrical energy. The only by-products are heat and water, making hydrogen fuel cells more efficient and eco-friendly than electric or other more conventional energy sources.
The more than 85 forklifts, stackers and tuggers will be one of the largest hydrogen fuel-cell fleets in the United States. BMW Manufacturing estimates that this will save 1.8 million kilowatt hours per year in electricity consumption – a perfect complement to BMW’s successful Landfill Gas-to-Energy initiative, where methane gas from a local landfill powers approximately half of the plant’s total energy requirements.
