Products and Solutions

With uniform standards and global coordination of technical activities to shorten the development processes for more product variants, the KION Group’s development approach is designed for efficiency. Development projects, initiated by product management in the Operating Units according to customer need, are coordinated and pooled by the Group-wide R&D¹ organization.

In 2020, the innovative Product Evolution Process (iPEP) was redesigned as part of the KION Product Development Optimization (KPDO) project to incorporate sustainability aspects even more firmly in product development, with corresponding targets and design specifications.

In the iPEP, the implementation of sustainability requirements at Linde MH is supported by life cycle management software that organizes and documents requirements and the achievement of targets.

The iPEP’s focus for 2021 was on fleshing out the product strategy. In 2022 and especially during 2023, attention turned to preparing further improvements in the product development process in order to boost product sustainability on an even wider scale. These improvements are set to be completed in 2024 and also include revising the guidelines used to test the sustainability criteria of products.

In keeping with the overall strategy of the KION Group, prioritizing the energy efficiency and sustainability of its products is also a key aspect for Linde MH. This includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions during the product use phase and increasing the use of recyclable and recycled materials. Linde MH strives to develop environmentally friendly and energy-efficient products and solutions that conserve resources and are cost-effective for customers. To this end, the company opts for eco-friendly materials and ensures that its products are easy to reuse, repair, and refurbish. Moreover, big data analyses make it possible to create product specifications and configurations that forgo unnecessary safety buffers while utilizing the life cycle to the optimal extent.

Linde MH applies agile methods to conduct these analyses. This means that work results are available sooner and goals can be achieved earlier. A high degree of modularity helps to optimize the use of materials and has a positive impact on logistics, production, and service. Intelligent platform concepts are an important element of this approach. For example, the new generation of Linde MH counterbalanced forklift trucks requires fewer parts than its predecessor. This reduces logistics costs, increases efficiency, and, in the medium term, reduces the need for spare parts in the more than 8500 service vehicles in operation throughout Europe.

It is also important that the trucks offer maximum driving performance with minimum fuel consumption. All electric forklift trucks developed in the future will therefore be both lithium-ion and fuel cell capable. What’s more, with the development of the X models, an electric forklift truck is now available that can replace an internal combustion truck in almost any operation. The KION Group had set itself the goal of making 90% of its portfolio electrically powered by 2027, including battery and fuel cell-powered products. However, this figure was already achieved in 2023 and this target is therefore being reviewed at present. Linde MH contributed to this aim during the year under review by equipping 90.1% of products sold with an electric drive.

Finalist in the German Sustainability Award Design 2023

In November 2022, the Linde MH X20–X35 electric forklift trucks were nominated for the final round by the jury of the German Sustainability Award Design 2023: The forklift trucks are as powerful and robust as conventional combustion engine models, but do not generate any climate-damaging CO₂ emissions when powered with electricity from renewable energies. In addition, they are produced in a resource-efficient manner, avoid the use of composite materials, and are designed in a way that facilitates disassembly and recycling. After being used in the trucks, the lithium-ion battery systems can be reused as static storage batteries and then recycled. The trucks are even more sustainable because they are designed for a long service life and can be easily repaired thanks to the use of replaceable components.

New drive technologies aren’t the only way to reduce energy consumption—making better use of energy can also open up significant scope for savings. One of the areas that Linde MH is working on to further improve product efficiency is therefore the development of solutions for the networked control of chargers. The aim of these solutions is to avoid expensive load peaks and to efficiently control the load consumption of the individual chargers. In addition, data-based analysis software enables customers to make all energy consumption in the company transparent, identify potential savings, and purchase energy more cost-effectively based on consumption forecasts. For example, the charging times for the forklift fleet can be adapted to the availability of electricity from the plant’s own photovoltaic systems.

With data-supported consulting tools, Linde MH helps customers to find the ideal drive and energy system for their fleet so they can achieve their sustainability targets. Sales colleagues use the Linde Energy Manager, for instance, to record all criteria relevant to the selection of an energy system in collaboration with the customer. Based on this information, the software provides a percentage assessment of which energy solution—diesel, gas or biofuel, lead-acid battery, lithium-ion drive, or hydrogen fuel cell—is best suited to the customer’s operating conditions and aims in terms of cost and sustainability. Expertise and test data from various departments have been used in the development of the software and associated database.

Linde MH also offers environmentally friendly alternatives for industrial trucks with combustion engines. In 2022, the KION Group received approval to use hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) as a fuel in Linde MH internal combustion forklift trucks. Depending on the manufacturer, a large proportion of HVO diesel is produced from renewable raw materials. Customers who use diesel forklift trucks can now fill up with this more environmentally friendly alternative diesel fuel, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90% compared to conventional diesel.

Energy-efficient lithium-ion batteries are available for the majority of Linde MH’s fleet. They offer decisive advantages over conventional lead-acid batteries, including faster charging times and higher charging efficiency as well as a service life that is three to four times longer and a much higher energy content. In addition, the energy efficiency of lithium-ion batteries is over 90%, which enables users to achieve energy savings of around 30% as well as significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared to a conventional battery-charger combination.

Hydrogen

At the customer’s request, Linde MH offers the factory integration of fuel cells into its industrial trucks as well as the “fuel cell ready” option. The aim is to give customers an environmentally friendly energy alternative by offering forklift trucks with fuel cell technology. If hydrogen obtained from renewable energies is also used, the fleet then operates virtually emission-free and so makes an important contribution to greenhouse gas emission savings. Indeed, Linde MH already has one of the largest fuel cell fleets in use at the production site of a well-known German automotive group.

Customers who want to make the switch to a hydrogen-powered forklift fleet are faced with an important decision, as in many cases the entire infrastructure needs to be built first. This requires technical specialists who support and advise the customer, carry out feasibility studies, and handle project management all the way through to implementation. Linde MH works with appropriate partners to ensure that its customers get the best fuel cell solution. In 2023, Linde MH set up a hydrogen infrastructure consisting of an electrolyzer, compressor, tank, and refueling system at the Aschaffenburg site.

Refurbishment and Recycling

Linde MH also develops concepts that protect the environment in the phase following the long-term use of its products. As well as producing its own lithium-ion batteries, the company also pays special attention to refurbishment and recycling. After all, what happens to the batteries once the guaranteed charging cycles have been reached is a crucial issue for the future.

This is where Linde MH’s return guarantee comes in: The nearest network partner in the country concerned takes back the batteries, thus ensuring that Linde MH fulfills its legal obligation to do so. Linde MH lithium-ion batteries go through a life cycle process with the aim of taking full advantage of the extraordinary lifespan of this technology:

Step 1: Refurbishment
Thanks to lithium-ion batteries’ long lifespans, batteries in a certain state of health (SoH) can be cleaned, refurbished, and reused in a new or used truck. Depending on battery usage, this cycle can usually be repeated several times.

Step 2: Remanufacturing
If the used battery no longer meets the requirements for reuse in a forklift truck but is still functional, parts are repurposed for other operations (such as cell modules in stationary operations or reconditioned steel trays for new batteries).

Step 3: Recycling
Once a battery reaches the end of its life, it is disassembled into its composite parts and recycled according to the material. Cells and modules are recycled in a two-stage process and the resources they contain can be recovered. Since 2023, the KION Group has been developing a strategic partnership with Li-Cycle Holdings Corp. in Europe in order to implement recycling initiatives. This partnership enables the Group to send recovered lithium-ion modules to Li-Cycle facilities for processing. During the recycling process, the batteries are shredded in a two-step process that minimizes impacts on the environment. The recovered materials are then processed to produce resources that can be used in the manufacture of new batteries.

Linde MH also uses a well-established recycling loop for lead-acid batteries in which the manufacturers handle the recycling process.

For several years now, Linde MH has been offering attractive deals on rental and used trucks that reduce costs for the customer while at the same time conserving valuable primary resources. In the year under review, Linde MH gave a new lease of life to around 15,500 used trucks in the EMEA region, and so is already contributing to the development of a circular economy.

With its “Approved Trucks” concept, Linde MH has replaced the previous “Plus,” “Super,” and “Ultra” levels with a single high standard of refurbishment. This means that only industrial trucks that have undergone a clearly defined process following the strictest guidelines will be supplied to customer companies. It is important to Linde MH that the used trucks, which are sourced either from the company’s own rental fleet or from leasing returns, have a blemish-free history.

The disposal of old forklift trucks is regulated by Directive 2000/53/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council. Linde MH therefore provides detailed information on the disposal of forklift trucks at approved recycling plants.

Assuming that customers use a traditional energy mix, the use phase proves to be the main source of GHG emissions in the life cycle assessments prepared for Linde MH. The energy efficiency of the power units is therefore always a key focus, both for internal combustion engines and in the further development of powerful and efficient electric drive technologies.

The KION Group also strives to achieve significant savings in Scope 3 emissions, including in the design phase—particularly for products and solutions. The main levers for achieving this are energy efficiency and the choice of materials. This is also reflected in the KION Group plant standards.

Life cycle assessments are an effective tool for systematically integrating environmental aspects into the development process for new products and for making environmentally friendly improvements. They also ensure that the optimization of individual system components does not have a negative impact on the overall environmental performance. Armed with this knowledge, companies can make their products and processes more sustainable and thus make a positive contribution to the environment.

Footnotes:
[1] In pursuing a cross-brand and cross-regional development approach, the KION Group is aiming to achieve uniform standards and global coordination of technical activities. Functions such as research and development, procurement, quality, and sustainability management have been bundled and are part of the KION GROUP AG Executive Board portfolio of the Chief Technology Officer (CTO).