The challenges faced by lithium-ion battery forklifts in cold storage environments of -20°C or even lower primarily focus on reduced range, low charging efficiency, and difficult battery maintenance. Solving these problems requires comprehensive optimization across three dimensions: technology, hardware, and management strategies.

The following are key solutions for lithium-ion battery forklifts in cold storage environments: Lithium-ion Battery Forklift Cold Storage Environment Solutions

1. Solving Range Degradation (Low-Temperature Discharge Performance)Low temperature is the root cause of decreased discharge efficiency in lithium-ion batteries. The main solution is active thermal management.

Active Heating System Integration:

Integrate a PTC heating film or liquid cooling/thermal system within the battery pack.

Through precise control by the BMS (Battery Management System), preheat the battery cells to their optimal operating temperature range (e.g., 15°C~35°C) before the forklift enters the low-temperature zone or during operation.

Results: Ensures battery activity, significantly improving discharge capacity and range at low temperatures.

Using Low-Temperature Dedicated Cells:Employing low-temperature resistant electrolytes and specially designed cell structures, such as low-temperature dedicated lithium iron phosphate (LFP) or high-nickel ternary (NCM) cells offered by some manufacturers.

Benefits: Improves the performance of battery materials in low-temperature environments.

Optimized Capacity Configuration: Considering the capacity loss caused by low temperatures, battery packs with larger redundant capacity are configured according to actual operational needs to ensure sufficient operating time per shift.

2. Addressing Low Charging Efficiency (Low-Temperature Charging Safety):
Low-temperature charging easily leads to lithium dendrite precipitation, damaging battery performance and lifespan. A safe charging strategy is crucial.

Intelligent Preheating and Constant Temperature Charging:

Preheating before charging: The charging station or battery system first activates its heating function to raise the battery temperature to a safe charging temperature (typically above 0°C).

Constant Temperature During Charging:During charging, the heating system continuously operates to ensure the battery temperature remains within the optimal charging range.

Benefits: Significantly improves charge acceptance, shortens charging time, and ensures charging safety.

Multi-stage constant current charging strategy (BMS control): The BMS dynamically adjusts the charging current based on the real-time monitoring of the lowest temperature of each battery cell. During low-temperature phases, pulsed or low-current slow charging is used to avoid high-current surges that could damage the battery.

Effect: Optimizes charging efficiency while ensuring safety.

"Warm Room Battery Swapping/Charging" Mode: A temperature-controlled charging station or fast battery swapping room is set up outside or adjacent to the cold storage area.

The forklift returns to the ambient temperature area for charging or swapping a fully charged battery pack.

Effect: Completely avoids low-temperature charging issues; the battery swapping mode is particularly suitable for cold storage facilities requiring 24-hour continuous operation.

3. Solving Battery Maintenance and Lifespan Challenges:
The temperature and humidity variations in cold storage environments place higher demands on the physical protection of battery packs.

High Protection Rating Design: Battery packs must have a higher IP protection rating (e.g., IP67), using special sealing and insulation materials to prevent condensation and frost buildup during entry and exit from cold storage, which could cause short circuits or corrosion of battery connectors and electronic components.

Effect: Improves the durability and safety of the battery system.

Intelligent BMS Deep Monitoring and Predictive Maintenance: The BMS needs to more accurately assess SOH (State of Health) and SOC (State of Charge) at low temperatures to prevent deep battery discharge.

Utilizing IoT technology, battery data is analyzed to achieve predictive maintenance (PdM), enabling timely detection and handling of anomalies, preventing fault escalation, and extending battery life.

Standardized Operation Management: Strict operating procedures are established to avoid prolonged idleness and downtime of forklifts in cold storage.

A mandatory "warm-room charging" system is enforced to ensure battery maintenance and energy replenishment are performed at appropriate temperatures.

Through the comprehensive application of the above technologies and management methods, lithium battery forklifts can achieve safe, efficient, and stable operation in extremely low-temperature cold storage environments.