Hydrogen fuel cell forklift-Made in China from 2023

A number of Chinese forklift producers have entered hydrogen fuel cell forklift in 2023. Although it still looks like uncharted water, these players are expecting new applications could be boosted by favorable policies.

The major Chinese innovators in this field include:

Hangcha Forklift, in cooperation with JUST Power, delivered 3.5 ton, 6 ton and 7 ton fuel cell forklift products this year. Particularly, the 3.5 ton forklift has solid-state hydrogen storage as an option.

Image:Hangcha’s hydrogen fuel cell forklift

Anhui Heli, the largest domestic forklift manufacturer in China (in term of revenue), debut its 3 ton and 3.5 ton fuel cell forklift and received orders for over 200 vehicles.

Image: Heli’s hydrogen fuel cell forklift

As of 1H2023, China has deployed around 500 hydrogen fuel cell forklifts while this figure may triple by the end of this year according to our resources.

China is the world biggest forklift producer and consumer, in 2021, China produced over 1.2 million forklift, among them, ICE and electric forklift share the market with 50% share each. Only a small fraction to be replaced by hydrogen fuel cell forklift could bring a huge opportunity to fuel cell players.

Currently, the potential consumers are testing the technical performance of fuel cell forklift, especially the durability and cost of life cycle. Some preliminary researches suggest if the retail hydrogen cost fall below 30 Rmb/kg ($4.2/kg), hydrogen fuel cell forklift may be more cost efficient over electric ones.