Lithium ion battery technology took the market by the storm. What is the key driver? People were attracted to their excellent specs and to how these batteries could be recharged and used over and over again.

More and more products are based on lithium ion batteries. More and more people  are enjoying the many benefits of this advanced technology. In fact, while the lithium ion market is already worth $35 billion each year, it’s expected to reach almost $130 billion by 2027!

Forklifts are essential machines that help keep our supply chains operating smoothly. They are heavy machinery that need to operate reliably and for as long as possible with a minimum of hassle and maintenance. That’s why the requirements for forklift batteries are so high, since they need to be capable of supporting industrial equipment.

Read on to learn all about how lithium ion batteries can save you money in forklift operations and provide better performance at the same time.

Adapting to the Economic Environment

In difficult economic times, it’s important for businesses to take advantage of tried and true ways to save money. These days, we simply cannot afford to let cost-saving opportunities pass us by without making the most of them.

Lithium ion batteries are proven improvements that allow you to save money over time. The longer you use them, the more you save. The longer there are problems with the economy, the better you’ll feel knowing that you’ve done everything you can to keep costs low.

Upgrading your batteries with lithium ion will more than pay for itself within just the next few years. In many cases, you’ll break even in 18 months; after that, it’s nothing but profit for you.

But that doesn’t mean that there are no benefits until the 18 month mark. Throughout those first 18 months and for many years after you’ll be able to enjoy improved performance and zero daily battery maintenance at the same time.

How Long Do Batteries Last?

Battery life depends on how you use them. Complicated requirements for how to recharge or replace batteries can interfere with your work schedule. Sometimes, you just need to focus on the efficiency of the work at hand and you don’t want to have to deal with battery charging problems.

Compared to the rigid charging schedule of lead acid batteries, Li-ion technology introduced a completely new and easy pattern of recharging, which is called opportunity charging. It is especially welcome in businesses that use tools like forklifts.

Opportunity charging means that you recharge the battery whenever it is most convenient for you and for as long as you want. The charge on the battery could be high or low when you plug it in.

It also means that you stop charging your battery whenever you need to use it, no matter how close to completion the charging process is.

Unfortunately, this opportunity charging pattern rapidly drains the life and power out of lead acid batteries. Lead acid batteries, even at their best, are limited to about 1500 cycles. Using the opportunity charging pattern that is best for business often means getting even fewer cycles out of a lead acid battery.

How Long Do Lithium Ion Batteries Last?

A lithium ion battery is far better than lead acid batteries in at least three important ways.

First, it has 2 to 3 times the cycle life of a lead-acid battery. A OneCharge lithium ion battery has a warranty that covers it for 3000 cycles! Depending on the intensity of your operations and your charging habits, you may get five to seven thousand cycles.

But on top of that, a lithium ion rechargeable battery actually benefits from opportunity charging! You will no longer have to choose between what’s good for your business and what’s good for your batteries. Using lithium ion batteries, the needs of the most efficient operations correspond perfectly with the best strategy to get as much life and performance out of your batteries as possible.

Last of all, lithium ion batteries maintain their performance even towards the end of their natural life. An output of a lead acid battery will drop as it inches towards the end of its useful life. But if you use lithium ion batteries, you’ll have no significant voltage drop at all.

That means your lifts will have all the necessary power that your trucks need throughout the lifetime of the battery.

How Safe Are Lithium Ion Batteries Compared to Other Batteries?

There are many kinds of batteries. While all modern battery research will create products that are generally safe for use, some are safer than others.

OneCharge Li-ion batteries are a special kind of lithium ion battery designed for maximum safety. Our chemical compound is safe from thermal runaway up to a temperature of 518 degrees Farenhiet!

On top of that, it comes with a built in battery management system (BMS). This system will shut the battery down at a mere 150 degrees, leaving you a cushion of 368 degrees before thermal run-away is possible!

In lead acid batteries, the main problem is not combustion, but rather acid leakage. A lead acid battery can corrode your battery trays and cause equipment malfunctioning. It can also leak toxic gases into the air that pose a threat to people’s health during the charging process.

Another aspect of safety sometimes forgotten is battery replacement. The more often you have to change your batteries, the greater the chance that something can go wrong. Since lead acid batteries need to be changed daily with multi-shift operations, they represent a greater safety risk.

Lithium Ion Batteries Come in Many Sizes

The lithium ion battery energy density is one of the highest in all modern batteries. They come in every size and shape you might need.

There are many lithium ion configurations available for any type of lift truck (used in material handling operations or manufacturing). That means you can get exactly what you need depending on the specifics of your operations with no “one size fits all” compromises.

Get the Best Forklift Batteries for Your Business

We hope you learned something helpful in this article about the benefits of using lithium ion forklift batteries. To learn more about how you can find the batteries, chargers, packages, to fit your application, check out our other pages.