HKPC Wins the Best Demonstration Project Award at the First “Hydrogen Sky Award” with its R&D Project “High-efficient Hydrogen Fuel Cell Hybrid System for Electric Forklifts” Co-developed with Startec Limited

(Hong Kong, 17 August 2022) The Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) proudly announced that its R&D project named “High Efficient Hydrogen Fuel Cell Hybrid System for Electric Forklifts” (the Project) has garnered the Best Demonstration Project Award at the “2022 Hydrogen 20 International Hydrogen Energy Industry (Shenzhen) CEO Summit – International Hydrogen Sky Award” (“Hydrogen Sky Award”).

The winning results of the first “Hydrogen Sky Award” were announced. This “Hydrogen Sky Award” is a global selection activity directed by the China Association for Science and Technology, and co-organised by the World Green Design Organization and the Hydrogen 20 Summit Organising Committee, representing the highest honour in the global hydrogen energy industry. The Organising Committee had initially reviewed over 400 valid applications and organised a jury composed of domestic and foreign experts to select the winners, aiming to commend enterprises, individuals, products, technologies, models and applications that have made outstanding contributions to the development of hydrogen energy industry.

The Project is jointly developed by HKPC and Startec Limited. It is also funded by the Innovation and Technology Fund of the Innovation and Technology Commission of the HKSAR Government through the application support by the Automotive Platforms and Application Systems R&D Centre (APAS) of HKPC. At present, electric forklifts with lead-acid and lithium battery commonly used in the industry have problems such as health and environmental safety hazards, long charging time, high cost and unstable energy efficiency. Hydrogen is a zero-emission clean fuel. The Project has integrated the hydrogen fuel cell hybrid system into the forklifts, successfully overcoming the problems of traditional electric forklifts and providing a cleaner and more eco-friendly solution, demonstrating a broad application prospect. The hybrid system uses hydrogen fuel cells to maintain the sustainable and stable operation of electric forklifts, while its hydrogen refuelling program only takes 3 minutes, greatly reducing the downtime of the forklift. The equipped lithium battery can provide additional power for the forklift to accelerate, climb and lift heavy objects. Even if the fuel is exhausted, the forklift is still able to drive to the hydrogen refuelling station to refuel by using electricity. Our developed hydrogen fuel cell hybrid system can also be adapted to different tonnages and types of electric forklifts.

Dr Lawrence Cheung, Chief Innovation Officer of HKPC and Chief Executive Officer of APAS, said, “A big thanks to the Hydrogen 20 Summit Organising Committee for their commendation and to our corporate partners for their trust in our innovation capabilities. This is a recognition of the efforts of our R&D team in promoting local R&D in Hong Kong. In line with the development trend of the hydrogen energy industry, HKPC has been committed to deepening the collaboration among the industry, academic and research sectors. HKPC aims to leverage its profound R&D strength and experience in serving the commercial and industrial sectors to support the industry in adopting innovative technologies, responding to the national and HKSAR’s mission of achieving carbon neutrality, and accelerating the development of a green and low‑carbon economic development. We will join hands with the industry and continue to achieve carbon neutrality, support enterprises with Industry 4.0 advanced technologies and further develop Hong Kong’s R&D achievements, thus developing Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology hub.”

Mr Ivan Ting, Business Director of Startec Limited, is very delighted that the R&D achievement in collaboration with HKPC has won an accolade at the “Hydrogen Sky Award”. He said, “This award is a recognition and support for enterprises which realised upgrading and transformation through technological innovation. It also embodies the importance attached to the application of R&D results. We are very pleased to have collaborated with HKPC. It provides us with one-stop technical support and consultancy services, as well as solutions to our business bottlenecks and pain points, accelerating the transformation of our R&D ideas into practice and promoting the adoption of new clean energy in the industry. It not only enhances the cost-effectiveness, but also fosters the development of hydrogen energy industry, thus contributing to the realisation of carbon neutrality in Hong Kong and the country.”

For more information about the awardees of “Hydrogen Sky Award” 2022, please visit: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/-keExZ3IISTNql5i0LGCsA (Chinese only)

- Ends -

The “High-efficient Hydrogen Fuel Cell Hybrid System for Electric Forklifts” jointed developed by HKPC and Startec Limited won the Best Demonstration Project Award at Hydrogen 20 Summit – “Hydrogen Sky Award”. Mr Larry Li (second from left), Senior Consultant of Smart City Division, HKPC, received the “Hydrogen Sky Award” on behalf of HKPC.

The awarded project “High-efficient Hydrogen Fuel Cell Hybrid System for Electric Forklifts” provides a clean, environmentally friendly and low-cost solution for electric forklifts, demonstrating a broad application prospect.