Kroger DC to Employ Fuel Cells

SN STAFF

COMPTON, Calif. — A distribution center here operated by Cincinnati-based Kroger will power its fleet of electric lift trucks with 161 hydrogen fuel cells from Plug Power, Latham, N.Y.

The GenDrive fuel cells include four class-1 units for sit-down counterbalanced trucks; 42 class-2 units for reach trucks; and 115 class-3 units for pallet trucks. The only byproducts created through the fuel cells' electrochemical energy-conversion process are heat and water.

Plug Power and Kroger have developed a hydrogen fueling infrastructure, placing compact dispensers throughout the DC. Lift truck operators can fuel the GenDrive units themselves in as little as sixty seconds, said Plug Power.