With most countries committed to a net zero emissions by 2050 target, exhibitors at LogiMAT provided plenty of options for companies to reduce their carbon footprints.

Forklift makers Jungheinrich and Hubtex no longer manufacture any equipment with internal combustion engines (ICE), while other equipment makers have machines powered by a range of different batteries.

German forklift maker Linde has seven energy sources available for its equipment, according to Ulrike Just, the company’s executive vice president sales and service EMEA.

Along with the more traditional power sources of diesel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and compressed natural gas (CNG), Linde equipment can also be powered by lead acid or li-ion batteries, fuel cells and even treated vegetable oil.

Just says the push for greener materials handling equipment was mainly coming from its large international customers.

Smaller companies, meanwhile, are looking at reducing their energy costs.

“In countries such as Germany and France our customers are struggling with their energy bills,” she says. “They need to get rid of their ICE trucks and they really need to manage the electricity they’re using.”

Hubtex unveiled two new pieces of equipment at LogiMAT, the 5 T to 6 T MaxX 60 electric multidirectional sideloader and the Flux 45 electric multidirectional counterbalance forklift truck.

Li-ion batteries are available for all equipment and company general manager Hans-Joachim Finger says demand for this green power source is rising rapidly.

“We see a big increase in Europe,” Finger says. “The technology is going forward, the charging technology is developing and the prices are going down.”

Finger predicts that within the next five years, two-thirds of the global market for materials handling equipment will be li-ion.

The Clark stand had three new electric forklifts on display, including a 48 V three-wheeled forklift that will be made available later this year.

Clark chief operating officer Stefan Budweit says the new equipment can be powered by lead-acid or lithium-ion (li-on) batteries, allowing customers to swap between power sources with a simple software change.

While Clark is focusing on li-ion for the majority of its equipment, the company will not stop manufacturing traditionally powered machines.

“We will not phase out diesel or LPG trucks because we work on a global scale,” Budweit says. “Africa is still a mainly diesel market.”

Clark is looking at hydrogen fuel cell options in Korea and the US, markets which Budweit says are more accepting of the technology.

“For small customers the cost of hydrogen is out of reach at the moment,” he says, predicting that prices will fall dramatically within the next two years.

Bobcat marketing supervisor materials handling Jan Droogendijk also sees the European market interest in hydrogen as lagging Korea and the US.

However, with hydrogen-powered forklifts being tested in Korea, Droogendijk says when the European market is ready, Bobcat will have products on hand.

The Bobcat stand at LogiMAT showcased the company’s new brand, rolled out earlier this year to replace the former brand of Doosan Industrial Vehicle.

As well as its hydrogen fuel cell-powered forklift prototype, the Bobcat range includes diesel, gas, liquid propane gas and electric forklifts.

Droogendijk predicts that li-ion equipment will be more common in EMEA markets within the next three to four years, making up the bulk of equipment in use.

Jungheinrich presented its new lithium-ion ETV 2i reach truck series at LogiMAT. 

While the ETV 2i series is designed for light to medium-duty applications for users who need to operate them for five hours per day or less, the company says next year it will release the ETV 3i high-performance reach truck series for intensive warehouse applications with high lifting heights and heavy loads in continuous operation.

Jungheinrich board member for sales Christian Erlach says his company sees lithium-ion as "the way to go". 

"Within 10 years ICE trucks will be the exeption," Erlach says. 

All the machines on display at Irish forklift maker Combilift's stand were powered by lead-acid batteries but company managing director Martin McVicar says all the equipment is “lithium-ready”.

For now, Combilift is sticking with tried and tested lead-acid batteries, which McVicar says are 98% recyclable.

“Lithium batteries are still a challenge to recycle,” he says, adding that current li-ion batteries are mostly sold with seven or eight year warranties.

“We all know seven or eight years comes around very fast and what’s going to be done with those old batteries in eight years time?”

Chinese battery maker RoyPow is riding the lithium-iron wave with its products: batteries for forklifts, cleaning machines and aerial work platforms.

The company’s Europe branch supervisor Jason Ma says the company is experience strong demand for its li-ion batteries from equipment makers and the second-hand equipment market, where ICE equipment can be retrofitted with li-ion batteries.

“About 10% of the European market is li-ion market,” Ma says. “We see there is still great potential for li-ion batteries and also for our business.”

Hangcha, meanwhile, used LogiMAT to unveil its China-first full electric rough terrain forklifts, which the company says has the same performance as a diesel forklift with zero emissions and less noise.

All the nine models on display at the trade show were powered by li-ion batteries, including the X series stackers and pallet trucks and the XC series reach trucks,.

Hangcha sales representative Joey Chen says the new products were well received by visitors to the stand, with nearly 2,000 orders placed and two new dealership agreements signed, one in the United Kingdom and one in Croatia.

Hangcha vice general manager George Zhang says the company will focus on green technology in coming years. 

“We're committed to advancing core technologies like energy efficiency, intelligent safety and integrated logistics, driving the industry towards electrification,” he says.

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