Daimler AG saves time, energy and water

The Mercedes-Benz plant in Bremen produces more than 300,000 vehicles per year. A new production hall was recently built. The aim was to reduce the frequency of battery changes for the existing fleet of forklift trucks and at the same time to close the central charging rooms in favor of decentralized charging stations in the immediate vicinity of the production line. However, this presented the company with problems, as it was necessary to prevent charging gases and acid aerosols from escaping into the production environment. It was therefore not possible to use conventional wet batteries.

A newly developed type of lead-acid battery with TPPL technology offers a cost-effective, practical and environmentally friendly alternative to conventional and lithium-ion batteries. With this new type of battery, the battery can be recharged repeatedly from any state of discharge without affecting the battery condition. Thanks to greater reliability and the avoidance of water loss, TPPL batteries are also very low-maintenance and cost-effective. The batteries from the NexSys series are suitable for a wide range of vehicles, such as forklift trucks, order pickers, pallet trucks, driverless or laser-controlled transport vehicles and cleaning machines.

No leakage of gases and acid aerosols

The NexSys batteries from EnerSys are environmentally friendly, according to the manufacturer. Photo: EnerSys

EnerSys offered its NexSys TPPL batteries with bound electrolyte as a virtually maintenance-free solution. As the batteries are completely sealed, the formation of oxyhydrogen gas is reduced to a minimum and the formation of acid aerosols is completely avoided. NexSys batteries are not only more cost-effective than conventional batteries, they are also environmentally friendly. Up to 90 percent of the materials used in the construction of lead-acid batteries can be recycled. At Daimler, it was found that the use of TPPL technology reduced water consumption by 21,750 liters and electricity consumption by 247,500 kWh.

Charging during the break

The advantage of modern technology is that replacing a battery with a fully charged spare battery at the end of a shift can often be avoided. "In automotive production, changing batteries is always a problem because it takes time and is potentially dangerous for the operators," says Christian Wessolowski, Sales Area Manager at EnerSys Motive Power.

TPPL batteries can be recharged at short notice whenever the opportunity arises - for example when the employee is taking a break. "These batteries combine the performance of a conventional lead-acid wet-cell battery with the advantages of a gel battery in terms of ease of maintenance. In addition, a quick-charging system ensures that the batteries can be fully recharged in the shortest possible time," continues Wessolowski. "By switching to the new battery technology, Daimler is saving more than 24,000 battery changes per year."

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