Nissan Forklift is offering the European market an environmentally-friendly option pack for all of its DX ECO-X LPG forklifts.

Nissan Forklift Europe BV is offering the European market an option pack for all of its DX ECO-X LPG forklifts that is not only environmentally friendly but could save end-users over 10% in operating costs.

René Eenhoorn from Nissan Forklift Europe's product marketing department tells Forkliftaction.com News that the CNG (compressed natural gas) module and engine adaptation pack enable its forklifts to run on natural gas and could benefit cusomers in Europe.

"There are several countries where CNG is rapidly emerging - like Italy, Netherlands, Austria and Spain. For example, the Netherlands has an excellent supply of natural gas in every household but it is impossible to tank CNG for your car at every gas station," Eenhoorn says.

He adds that some of Nissan Forklift's customers have a CNG infrastructure established for their day-to-day business and a CNG-run forklift could be a "natural addition" to their daily operation.

"This type of company has the advantage of already owning a CNG filling station. They only have to invest in the CNG module option when buying the forklift," Eenhorn says.

Cost savings achieved through running forklifts on natural gas are dependent on the customer's situation. A customer with a CNG filling station who invests in one CNG module option could save up to 10% of the forklift's operating costs. Larger forklift users could achieve greater cost reduction.

"Companies who have to buy the filling station and the module option, they need to have more CNG forklifts in their fleet to make it economically viable," Eenhorn explains. "Due to a number of parameters, it is difficult to say generally how many trucks a company needs to break even. We discuss with each customer to access economic viability."

The advantages of natural gas-run forklifts include low fuel costs, clean exhaust emissions, the ability to use the vehicle indoors, no costly LPG bottle exchange, the driver does not need to change LPG bottles and fast and easy filling for certain types of filling stations.

Nissan Forklift developed the CNG module option with IMPCO Technologies by modifying the Nissan K21 and K25 LPG engines. The current Nissan fuel injection system remains but a special gas tank (CNG module) is installed. It is a patented and CE-PED certified gas tank. PED stands for the Pressure Equipment Directive that defines safety requirements for pressurised equipment sold in EU countries.

Customers that choose the option pack on top of the LPG forklift pay 10-20% more. The forklift can be converted to run back on LPG, securing its residual value when it is put on the used-truck market.