Q-lion, part of multinational Pon Holdings, has just launched its first product - a lithium-ion battery solution for the materials handling market that it claims significantly reduces charging time.

Q-lion CEO Koert Huisman tells Forkliftaction.com News the battery solution is the first lithium-ion battery in the world that can be charged rapidly.

"In our industry, the materials handling and cleaning market, most manufacturers see the benefits of lithium-ion compared to the current industry standard lead-acid, because it is a lightweight, safer and maintenance-free battery," Huisman says.

"Many suppliers talk about new lithium-ion batteries as a future possibility and they are still in pilot phases and struggling to get [the] economics [to] work," he says.

Q-lion's lithium-ion battery costs up to five times the price of traditional lead-acid batteries but Luisman says users can save 10% of lifetime costs through greater productivity and efficiency.

He says the key to the company's new development is not the battery itself but the fast-charging technology it employs.

"No one has been able to charge a battery for the forklift industry within 15 minutes," Huisman says.

Q-lion claims its lithium-ion battery solution reduces charging time by 32 times, reduces environmental impact by 45% and raises productivity by 10%.

"We charge with a 6-20kw charger. Field studies have shown we charge 32 times faster because traditionally it takes eight hours and now it only takes 15 minutes," Huisman says.

On the productivity front, he says lithium-ion battery users have reported a 10% improvement in the throughput of goods and significantly shorter times to process standard jobs because of the constant power supply the battery provides.

He also singles out a study by the University of Brussels pointing to a 45% reduction in environmental impact when using lithium-ion batteries compared to lead-acid solutions. The study can be downloaded at www.mech.kuleuven.be/lce2006/010.pdf.

Q-lion's main technology partner is Netherlands-headquartered Epyon, which developed the fast-charging technology for the automotive market. The technology has been adapted for forklifts and Q-lion has global distribution rights for the materials handling market.

Reid Hislop, from US fuel cell provider Plug Power Inc, says his company welcomes the development and use of advanced battery technology but points out the batteries' deficiencies.

"This new battery technology may be more environmentally friendly and lighter than its lead-acid predecessor but, at the end of the day, it is still a battery. They still require re-charging equipment, which takes up space, can be 7-10 times more expensive than lead-acid and are still dependent on re-charging from the grid, which will impact on any reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

"Whether it takes 15 minutes or 20 minutes to re-charge, that's still four or five times longer than it takes to re-fuel a fuel cell," Hislop says.

Plug Power claims to have 85% market share in the North American fuel cell forklift. Hislop says he does not see advanced battery technology "or any other technology for that matter" having an impact on his company's market share soon.