New battery

GNB Industrial Power (UK), a division of Exide Technologies, has been working towards developing a Lithium-ion offering, which can be tailored to each customer's specific needs. The result is a lightweight yet high performance battery, suitable for motive power applications.

Working closely with several material handling OEMs and end users, GNB has assessed the value of Lithium-ion and the benefits it can provide over its Lead-acid equivalents. GNB believes the main advantage to be an increase in productivity. As Lithium-ion can be fast charged (typically taking only 1h to fully charge) during breaks in the working day, unproductive periods that result from lead tray exchange are avoided. It is also said to be more efficient during the charge cycle, which leads to lower electricity consumption and lower utility costs.

Lithium-ion does not gas so there is no requirement for extraction and no need to charge batteries in one specific area.