Toyota report grapples with energy storage challenge in logistics

Toyota Hydrogen Fuelled Vehicles
A hydrogen fuel cell forklift truck from Toyota at the opening of a new hydrogen fuelling station at Teesside International Airport in January (image credit: Toyota UK).

A report from logistics specialist Toyota Material Handling (UK) indicates priorities and directions for the logistics industry, given the required trajectory of emissions reduction.

The document has also elicited praise and some comment from firms involved in developing circularity initiatives.

‘Trends in Logistics 2024’ calls for new solutions that aren’t beset by the intermittency problems of wind and solar. The need has emerged for solutions that allow energy to be stored in sufficient quantity to sustain a constant electricity supply and avoid the risk of power cuts.

For example, batteries capable of very high capacity energy storage have a vital part to play in the UK’s future energy infrastructure. Potentially, say the authors, batteries may have to be able to store enough energy to run entire industrial sites or to power cities or large urban conurbations.

“There is no doubt that high-capacity batteries will become a part of the overall energy landscape,” said Toyota Material Handling’s Gary Ison, Product Development Manager.

He continued: “Battery manufacturers and OEMs are in a race to develop high capacity batteries that are not only capable of powering electric vehicles, such as forklifts, over a sustained period after the briefest recharging time, but are also big enough to store the energy generated  by the sun and the wind to allow essential electricity supplies to be maintained at times when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing.”

Battery technology is advancing along various technology pathways, with batteries based on silicone, graphene and sodium batteries all being considered. The report says there is growing optimism that developments in solid state batteries, could have a positive long-term impact.

Solid-state batteries differ from lithium-ion batteries in that the latter uses a liquid electrolyte. The promise of the solid electrolyte is increased energy density, and a solid-state battery can be up to 10 times that of a lithium-ion unit of the same size. However, they are expensive and difficult to produce and are expected to remain so for some time.

The authors also nod to a growing enthusiasm among operators of larger materials-handling equipment fleets for fuels such as hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) and hydrogen.

Toyota’s own hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered forklifts (pictured, above) currently operate at sites across the Nordic region, Europe, and Australia.

Circular direction of travel
Circularity efforts will also gain a nudge from government sustainability targets that are coming into force, including strong punitive measures for those who don’t comply.

Sustainable electronics company In2tec praised the “future-facing report”, commenting on the need for sustainability in materials handling equipment.

The group’s Commercial Director Emma Armstrong said: “We are seeing more major players such as Toyota shine a light on the imperative for a renewed focus on the circularity of electronics.

“Hopefully, these thought leaders will shake the wider industry out of its slow adoption of technology circularity,” she said.

In the future, financial performance will fall in importance while environmental social governance will rise, as the Toyota report explains. “Surveys show that company management is having to adapt at a very fast pace.”

In2tec has developed a pair of patented technologies – ReUSE®, the manufacturing of unzippable electronics assemblies, and ReCYCLE™ an ultra-low energy disassembly process – “that allow full end-of-life opportunities for repair of electronics and reuse of components”.

“These unique technologies can help manufacturers and the wider electronics industry introduce circularity to their operations.”

The group’s Emma Armstrong said these solutions overcome “technical challenges to recycling, such as the stress caused to de-soldered components by the reclamation process, while opening up new revenue streams and cost savings from the reclaimed components.”