3rd Israeli Power Source Conference

Application of Li Ion Batteries in

Industrial Vehicles.
TCO and commercial considerations based on customer business cases.
May 29th-30th 2013

Agenda
1. LiTHIUM BALANCE A/S. Company profile.
2. Situation Analysis: Case of Toyota Material Handling
Europe (TMHE)
3. Solution Description.
4. Measured benefits (TCO, commercial considerations).
5. Conclusion, recommendation.

LiTHIUM BALANCE, facts

Battery Managment System supplier. Award

winning, patented BMS technology (US, China, EU).

Founded in 2006 by Danish Technological Institute.

6 mEUR invested in platform development.

Current owners:
DONG Energy Power A/S. Power utility supplier.
DS 7 Aps (Holding company for business angels)

Lars Barkler, CEO

Number of employees: 15

Focus on R&D and Sales

Direct sales, and through network of distributors

Production outsourced
BB Electronics Industrial LV BMS platform.
Flextronics Industrial and automotive HV BMS
platform.
3

We serve the large format lithium battery

applications with three BMS platforms
Integrated (i-BMS)

Scalable (s-BMS v.6)

Basic BMS for simpler

applications (Boat,
Scooter, Robot)
12-72V versions
Embedded switching
RS232 communication
TV automotive

Advanced BMS for

industrial and EV
applications
Modular 12-1000V
RS485 and CAN-bus
Industrial certification
High EMI resilience,
>200V/m@80-2400MHz

Networked (n-BMS)

Automotive grade BMS

Modular 0-1000V
3mV precision
Up to 1 temp sensor/cell
Analogue redundancy
ISO26262 ASIL C
CAN-bus board2board
50% size reduction
Release for sale Q1 2014

Market position
Our focus: democratising Li-ion battery technology for use in
industrial and motive applications (1-3).
Our challenge: making good on
this goal in a cost effective
manner
Our solution:
flexibility, support
documentation
and the right
product!

3
2

We have unique integration knowhow from170+ different

customer implementations. Major revenue from Industrial.

First Li-ion forklift in

a cold store
No battery swap
needed
Longer pack life
Opportunity
charging
Maintenance free
Lower TCO

First Li-ion electric street

sweeper
No exhaust emissions
Low noise emissions
Can be used on
pavements with
pedestrians
Can be used at any time
of the day or night

First Li-ion truck mounted

forklift
Manageable weight
Can also be driven indoor for
delivery or pick ups
Can be used around food
stuffs
Can be operated day or night

First Li-ion garbage

truck compactor
Reduces noise and
tailpipe emissions
No engine revving
Can be operated
day or night

Direct supply to a major battery manufacturer

Who are customers today?

Key challenge: Winning early majority.
Sales Customer Types:
Technology fans/hobbyists (at early stages).
Technology visionaries (happening now).
Those in established companies who see a benefit from an
innovation or new technology

Chasm

Early majority
Success, mainstream market presence

Crossing the chasm

The difficulty of attracting mainstream customers

Revolutionary change
New, fast, easy, unique products
Tolerates in-complete product
Willing to take risk
References other industries
Buy from new firms
Wants rich tech support

Productivity improvement
De facto standard, 3rd party support,
low cost of ownership
Expects complete solution
Wants little risk, but willing to learn
Rely references within their industry
Buy from market leaders (like competition)
Wants one point of contact

CASE: Toyota Material Handling Europe

TMHE is worlds no.1 supplier of Material Handling Solutions,
i.e. forklifts and warehouse trucks.
Biggest pain: Cost induced by service and maintenance of the
machines primarily battery change and pack maintenance.
Impact: 1 spent on maintenance translates into ~10 spent on
damages* (e.g. lost income due to productivity losses).
Reducing negative impact of service and maintenance costs is
the gold of the customer.

*Hkan Dahllf, president of TMHE (2011)

Situation Toyota asked us to address

Battery change is a problem. Production loss.
Direct costs are high

Production loss due to battery handling.

Cost of personnel, replacement packs and equipment.
Cost due to a relative short cycle life of the L/A battery.
Energy costs. L/A battery has low energy efficiency.

Discharge performance of the L/A is a problem.

Truck gets slower as it discharges affecting truck
performance, productivity and end-user satisfaction.

Image. Customers want environmentally friendly

battery technology.
Design. Customer want smaller machines.

TMHE, technical solution.

Blackbox Li-ion battery pack (48V 800Ah):
Large format prismatic LFP cells
sBMS #100160
LiBAL Std. LV Switchbox
Fast charger (6,4kW).
TMHE-specific CAN-bus interface and advanced Error Handling Procedures.
Solution tested and approved by TMHE (factory tests, extensive field tests).

In field operation,
24/7 since 2 years,
@ -25C

FACTS:
In constant use since Nov. 2010
3 shift operation, 24/7.
Opportunity charged.
No technical problems,
breakdowns and/or production
stop. Battery SOH near 100%..
No maintenance on battery was
performed since Nov. 2010.
Huge savings because no
maintenance, no battery change
and no production stop.
High end-user satisfaction
(constant performance).

TMHE: Factors affecting TCO*

In order of significance:
1. Resources spent on maintenance, i.e. Manpower, infrastructure, battery storage
and charging rooms, water.
2. Time and money spent on battery change, i.e. spare packs, equipment, personnel.
E.g.:
36min./truck/day because no battery change (6x6min)
180h/year, i.e. 24 working days saved per truck/year!

3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Energy savings. Li-ion is ~20% more efficient than the L/A (measured by Toyota)
Loss of productivity due to operation stop for battery change or maintenance.
Remember: 1 spent on maintenance =~ 10 damage!
Cycle life. The cycle life can be affected by temperature, DOD%, charging discipline.
Longevity (years in service of the machine)
Battery purchasing price

*TCO Total Cost of Ownership

Pic. 1
LiBAL performing situational
analysis with Toyota, Exide
and SuperGros

Cost of ownership over 5 years

Li-ion is estimated to be ~1,68 times cheaper than the corresponding L/A
solution over a 5 years period in a heavy duty professional application, i.e.
battery/maintenance cost and energy savings taken into account.
The potential derived benefits, e.g. due to increased productivity, simplified
logistics etc. make the Li-ion solution even more interesting.
Reference parameters
1 Truck lifetime
2 Number of battery packs per truck needed to ensure smooth operations
3 Battery cost per pack
4 Number of packs needed during the 5 years period
5 Longevity of a single battery
6 Total battery purchasing cost over the 5 years period
7 Time spent on battery change over the 5 years period [days]
8 Time spent on battery maintenance [days]
9 Total days spent
10 Cost of maintenance [man-day, 350/day]
11 Energy throughput [kWh/truck over the 5 years]
12 Energy cost []

TCO

L/A

Li-ion
5
2

5
1

2000

16000

7,68
1,3 years

1,71
2,91 years

15360

27360

120
15,36
135,36

1
0
1

50760

375

223200 kWh

223200 kWh

55800

44640

121920
72375
N.B. All prices in the below table are are based on 2010 prices.

Conclusion
Relatively high purchasing price of Li-ion compared to L/A should not be a
show stopper. Li-ion technology is economically justified in the heavyduty professional applications.
The best suited for Li-ion are*:
1. Professional industrial application.
2. Heavy usage with high charge/discharge rates and capacity.
3. Multiple shift operation where battery change is required.
4. Large energy throughput / consumption.
5. Maintenance cost is high.
6. Machine is applied in a harsh environment, e.g. cold or hot ambient
temperatures.
7. Where there is a need for simplified logistics, cost reduction,
productivity increase.
8. High focus on design, machine size, ergonomics and environment,
i.e. noise and emission control.
* The projects must score high on at least 2 of the above factors.

APPENDIX

Our customers are primarily industrial,

automotive and battery manufacturers
Industrial
Forklifts, cleaning, lifts

Automotive
Truck, bus, car

Battery
Batteries, integrators

but we have also done marine, military, storage, agricultural, aerospace applications
CONFIDENTIAL

Toyota introducing Li-ion to the market.

CeMAT exhibition in Hannover, 2011.

CASE 2: Tennant Company

Tennant Leading supplier of cleaning machines and street
sweepers.
Key drivers for change: Legal constraints and costs.
EU directive on emission standards for non-road and
commercial vehicles (EURO 6) drive conversions from diesel to
electric.
Direct costs are high:
Cost induced by maintenance of diesel engine.
Fuel price.
Environmental nuisance:
Pollution.
Noise. Restricted access to urban areas due to noise.

Tennant. Solution overview.

Dual Li-ion battery pack (72V 400Ah), i.e. cells (LFP), BMS (sBMS, #100160),
switchbox (LiBAL Std. LV Switchbox) and a fast charger (6,4kW). Solution is
in production.

Dual pack:
1. Drive
2. Vacuum cleaner and tools

Tennant: Factors affecting TCO

In order of significance:
1. Resources spent on maintenance of the current diesel
engine.
2. Energy savings. Diesel vs. electricity.
3. Gain in productivity due longer/earlier operating hours.
4. Cost savings due to fewer machines.
5. Battery purchasing price.
6. Low noise. Less complaints.

*TCO Total Cost of Ownership

CASE 3: Banke Accessory Drive

Revolutionary idea for reducing noise
and tailpipe emissions during garbage
collection.
700volt system powering an electric
power take off (e-PTO) to drive the
compactor.
No engine revving and one battery
charge lasts all day.

CASE 2: Cargotec truck mounted forklift

1.

2.
3.

4.
Replacement of existing internal
combustion engined solutions with
Li-ion battery powered solutions

5.

Price premium offset against

continually more stringent
exhaust emissions legislation
Ability to operate 24/7 low
noise emissions
Ability to operate
indoors/outdoors or around
foodstuff
On truck charging, always
ready for deployment
Reduced service costs
electric vs ICE technology

CASE 3: Banke Accessory Drive

Reduces noise and tailpipe emissions
No engine revving
One battery charge lasts all day

Banke Accessory Drive. Solution.

700V system powering an electric power take off (e-PTO) to drive the
compactor no engine revving and one battery charge lasts all day.

Banke: Factors affecting TCO

In order of significance:
1. Energy savings. Diesel vs. electricity.
2. Gain in productivity due longer/earlier
operating hours.
3. Cost savings due to fewer machines.
4. Battery purchasing price.
5. Low noise. Less complaints.

*TCO Total Cost of Ownership

Additional things to consider

What problem(s) are you solving with your product?

What are the markets?
Original chosen market segment too small
The product must be fit for purpose
What would represent the total solution and how do you provide
it?
How do you get to your customers
Start small and stay small until you have a reason to be big
How much do you think it will cost, then triple it!
To succeed, you must survive
What would success look like?
It always takes longer and costs more...
Professional management essential