Anyone who has been responsible for maintaining and charging lift truck batteries is keenly aware of how complex that process can be. Industrial battery company EnerSys is focusing on solutions that will reduce that complexity for the user, including lithium-ion batteries, thin plate pure lead (TPPL) batteries, and wireless charging.

EnerSys announced two additions to its NexSys line of industrial batteries today at the biennial ProMat show: the NexSys iON and the NexSys Pure. The NexSys iON is a lithium-ion battery and offers the benefits typical of lithium-ion batteries, including smaller size, virtually maintenance-free performance, and longer life. NexSys Pure batteries feature EnerSys' TPPL technology, which does not require the watering, equalizing, and battery changing necessary for conventional lead-acid batteries. In this way, TPPL technology provides some of the benefits of lithium-ion batteries but at a lower cost.

The company is also developing what it calls "wireless charging," where instead of having to plug a battery into a charger, the lift truck operator can drive over a charging pad on the floor to charge the truck. According to Harold Vanasse, senior director of Motive Power Marketing, Americas, future applications of this technology might include placing these pads down the aisles of a warehouse so that the battery charges as it discharges.

For more information, visit the EnerSys website.