mouser.com/te 21
Opportunistic
Charging for
Electric Forklifts
TE Connectivity
T
oday's warehouse operations rely on electric
forklifts to improve efficiency and provide
energy and cost savings. That means
equipment manufacturers face a new challenge:
charging downtime.
This challenge is especially true when using
traditional lead-acid batteries, which require a
lengthy recharge, additional warehouse space, and
battery swaps (if running for 24 hours)—all of which
cut into productivity.
TE Connectivity (TE) is helping develop more
sophisticated battery management systems
(BMS)—which monitor battery status and health,
optimize charging and recharging, and connect and
disconnect the load and charger—to help ensure
reliability of the driving vehicles that are so crucial
in warehouse operations.
Lithium-ion Batteries Enable More
Convenient Charging
Due to recent advances in lithium-ion battery
technology, electric forklifts are more efficient than
ever. Lithium-ion forklift batteries are rechargeable
batteries that offer high energy density and a very
small memory effect.
Lithium-ion batteries can survive more charging
cycles independent of the state of charge and
therefore can be charged at opportune times
throughout the day rather than requiring several
hours to fully charge. That means workers can
charge the batteries whenever possible—even
during short breaks.
The result? Smaller batteries that are lighter in
weight, are more sustainable, and deliver improved
machine profitability and total cost of ownership.
Lithium-ion technology also drives the need for fast
charging.
