GREENE – The Raymond Corporation is taking a hands-on role in an effort to launch an energy technology that could change the world. In 2007, the company applied a grant from NYSERDA to put a fueling station for hydrogen fuel cells on the ground floor of its main building in Greene, after which they began producing fuel cell capable forklifts. Since then, Raymond has been contracted by over a dozen companies to produce fuel cell capable machines.
Experimentation with hydrogen fuel cells dates back to the early half of the 19th Century, but only recently has the movement to produce fuel cell capable cars begun to gather real steam. Hydrogen fuel cells are batteries that utilize hydrogen and water to produce heat. Hydrogen and water interact within the fuel cell to produce a chemical reaction that emits heat energy and clean drinkable water, making it a safe and green energy source. At the moment due to the difficulties producing and transporting the light weight molecule h2, the price of fuel cell produced energy is higher than energy produced by burning fossil fuels. With inevitable rise in the price of fossil fuel and technological advancements, the disparity in the cost effectiveness between the two energy sources will not last for much longer.
Even though currently the price of energy from fuel cells is high, they are still potentially more cost effective than alternative energy sources, and companies can still see a return on their investment if they use fuel cells in bulk. Due to hydrogen fuel cells’ zero emissions, they are ideal for closed space work environments, such as factories. Coupled with the low cost of producing forklifts, compared to the production cost of cars, Raymond is ideally positioned to act as a proving ground for this technology.
“As a producer of vehicles, it is vital for us to be on the cutting edge of energy development,” said Craig Curtis, a Raymond Corp. product manager. Last September, Curtis represented Raymond in Albany at an energy conference called, Ticket to Ride, held at the College of Nanoscale Science & Engineering, to discuss the challenge of commercializing hydrogen fuel cells in the northeast.
“There were so many smart people there, I felt like I was on the Big Bang Theory,” said Curtis. Curtis contributed to an expert panel discussing the “Stationary and Forklift Applications – Market Identification,” in which he spoke about Raymond’s experience producing fuel cell capable forklifts for companies as well as using them within their own factory.
The major concern Ticket to Ride addressed was how to get the Northeast to use fuel cells to go green, said Curtis. The ultimate goal is to get fuel cell capable cars on the roads. “The big question though is where to begin,” he said. “How do we go about getting fuel cell stations built? Do we begin with metropolitan areas as focal points and build out, or do we focus on commercial vehicles?”
Right now Raymond is at the forefront in the development of fuel cell capable vehicles, acting as a testing ground for the technology. With escalating gas prices and an increasing interest in alternative energy sources, Curtis believes that Raymond may very well become a launch pad for the number one fuel source of the future.