BLG LOGISTICS has installed 37 fuel cell industrial trucks at the BMW Group factory in Leipzig.
They will refuel at the fourth on-site hydrogen filling station, which began operations in May to coincide with the Central Germany Hydrogen Summit. The BMW Group in Leipzig is supplied by the globally active logistics organization established in the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. The move contributes significantly to BMW’s objective of a “green plant” with zero-carbon output.
Green hydrogen is regarded as a critical component for meeting the Paris climate targets. It can store renewable energy and transform it into power and heat on demand using fuel cells. This is how forklifts, vehicles, lorries, and even trains can operate without emitting CO2.
“Counting BLG’s 37 industrial trucks, we use a total of 118 hydrogen vehicles in our Leipzig plant. That’s the largest hydrogen-driven logistics fleet in Germany. Right from the start, the BMW Group plant in Leipzig was committed to exclusively using certified green hydrogen.”
Kai Lichte, Head of Communications at the BMW Group plant in Leipzig.
The benefits of H2 industrial trucks are obvious: they are locally emission-free, and fueling is quick, simple, and space-saving.
“When the BMW Group asked us to replace around 40 of our almost 200 industrial trucks at their plant with hydrogen models, we quickly agreed. Sustainability is also a top priority for our company.”
Markus Niemeier, Head of the BLG location in Leipzig.
BLG LOGISTICS’ Leipzig location is the first to deploy hydrogen forklifts. On an approximate logistics area of about. BLG provides services along the full supply chain, from products receipt to warehouse management, sequencing and picking, production line supply, and empties processing, on 200,000 m2 of the BMW Group facility. At its Leipzig plant, the corporation oversees supply for the automaker’s conventional models. It processes all of the components used in daily production.
BLG LOGISTICS has begun operating the first 37 forklifts, reach trucks, electric pallet trucks, and route vehicles in the Supply Center South, a pre-assembly area, in collaboration with Günsel Fördertechnik und Fahrzeugbau GmbH, the rental business for the new industrial trucks. Günsel is in charge of BMW Leipzig’s whole H2 fleet.
“We’ve been expanding our portfolio of hydrogen industrial trucks from the manufacturer Linde since 2013. In Leipzig and other locations, we’ve gained important experience with this alternative drive technology. Drawing on this expertise, we can today offer complex application concepts with green hydrogen, also for other industries. That’s how we’re contributing to the decarbonization of production and logistics processes.”
Toralf Richter, Head of Sales at Günsel Fördertechnik und Fahrzeugbau GmbH.
