Part of Preferred Freezer Services' Li-ion fleet

Lithium power systems manufacturer Green Cubes Technology has partnered with Preferred Freezer Services to launch the largest lithium battery-powered fleet in the cold storage industry with approximately 9 MWh of capacity deployed.
So far, lithium batteries have been used to replace traditional power sources on 285 units.

"Preferred Freezer Services is experiencing immediate benefits by converting from lead-acid to lithium battery systems," says Adam Brown, director of sales at the motive division of Green Cubes Technology. "Lithium battery systems eliminate time-consuming and costly maintenance and maintain a longer cycle life in extreme temperatures, particularly cold environments. As the company works to convert all current and future materials handling equipment to lithium power, fleets will run better, longer and with less power consumption."

According to Green Cubes, the fleet size continues to grow as Preferred Freezer opens new facilities and replaces older lead-acid batteries in its current fleet. "We are continuing to convert the existing fleet to lithium as the lead-acid batteries expire," Brown told Forkliftaction News.

The lithium batteries are being supplied as drop-in replacements with high-output chargers and one lithium battery per truck.

The value of the contract has not been disclosed, but sources say it’s a "multi-million dollar deal".

As one of the largest public refrigerated warehousing companies in the world, Preferred Freezer Services has 39 facilities in the US and a number of new facilities under construction. Maintaining its warehouses at -20 C, the company faced unique challenges that lead-acid batteries simply could not address. Specifically, lead-acid battery systems lose power and operating efficiency over their short cycle life, leading to increased operating cost with decreased performance of up to 50%.

According to Preferred Freezer Services, the company chose Green Cubes Technology because of its 30-plus years of developing innovative lithium systems for multiple applications, including the motive industry. In addition, Preferred Freezer executives sought a partner that provided a more sustainable product that could make the transition to lithium battery systems seamless and cost-effective, with plans to make 100% of fleet operations lithium battery-powered.

Green Cubes claims its Lithium SAFEFlex battery systems save up to 65% on battery expenditures over five years and offer up to four times the longevity of lead-acid battery systems and faster charging with a complete one-hour recharge and no battery degradation.