Lowe's will use hydrogen to power 157 forklifts.

Lowe's Companies Inc is using hydrogen to power 157 forklifts at a 1.4 million sqft. (130,060 sqm) regional distribution centre in Rome, northwest of Atlanta.

Previously, Lowe's conducted technology trials with hydrogen-powered forklifts at regional distribution centres in California and Connecticut. The company projects payback on the Rome investment within 30 months.

Lowe's has a five-year contract with Plug Power Inc of Latham, New York for GenDrive products at the new distribution centres. Ballard Power Systems Inc of Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada supplies the fuel cell stacks for Plug Power's units.

Lowe's began work to establish the Rome facility in 2011 and opened the store in April 2013.

Publicly traded Mooresville, North Carolina-based Lowe's operates more than 1,830 stores in the US, Canada and Mexico and reported profit of USD2.29 billion on sales of USD53.42 billion for the fiscal year ended 31 January. Lowe's is the world's second-largest home improvement retailer.