EnerSys adds models to line of lift truck batteries

Battery and charger manufacturer EnerSys has added new models to its line of NexSys batteries, launching a fast-charging battery for applications such as use of high-capacity lift trucks, the company said.

The new models offer a broad range of long-life charging options, including the ability to be fast-charged in just under an hour and be opportunity-charged to work for up to 16 hours, using EnerSys' proprietary Thin Plate Pure Lead (TPPL) technology, the Reading, Pa.-based company said.

The expanded battery line provides energy throughput of up to 160 percent in a 24-hour period, and offers extended life cycles exceeding 1,500 cycles at 60 percent depth of discharge (DOD), NexSys said.

NexSys has sold TPPL-based batteries for nearly a decade for small traction applications, but is now applying the technology to high-capacity lift trucks as well, Chad Uplinger, EnerSys' vice president for motive power Americas, said in a statement.

The technology allows lift truck operators to opportunity-charge their batteries during breaks or at the end of a shift in far less time than the 12 hours needed to recharge conventional lead acid batteries, he said. That flexibility allows users to avoid the need for battery change-outs when used with equipment such as counterbalance trucks, reach trucks, pallet trucks, order pickers, automated guided vehicles (AGVs), and laser guided vehicles (LGVs), the firm said.

The announcement was made March 27.