The Materials That Make Up a Forklift Battery

No matter which industry you’re in, a forklift can help your business thrive if you operate a warehouse. Forklifts are critical vehicles for moving large objects and pallets.

Some forklifts use fuel to operate, such as gasoline and diesel, but today we will be discussing forklift batteries. The materials that make up a forklift battery depend on which type of battery it is. In this guide, you will learn about the three main types of forklift batteries and what is inside each one.

Lead-Acid Batteries

The most common type of forklift battery is lead-acid. Some people refer to these types as wet cell batteries because they comprise of a battery case, cables that connect to battery cells, and a mixture of water and sulfuric acid.

Each battery cell has plates that are coated in lead. When these plates come into contact with the electrolytic mixture of water and sulfuric acid, it powers the forklift with electricity.

Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) Batteries

This type of forklift battery uses a glass mat specifically designed to pass the electrolytes from one battery plate to the next. AGM batteries have lead plates just like lead-acid batteries, but they don’t require watering since the sulfuric acid passes electricity through the glass.

The main advantage to using this type of battery is that they charge faster than lead-acid batteries, and they don’t come with the risk of spilling battery acid if the case cracks. However, their shelf life isn’t as long as other types of forklift batteries because each charge will harm the battery’s performance.

Lithium-Ion Batteries

The materials in lithium-ion batteries differ from the previous two kinds. Not only are the chemical components of forklift batteries different from each other, but they also behave in different ways.

Instead of relying on sulfuric acid, this battery passes lithium ions from a cathode to an anode via the ceramic membrane. The cathode and anode materials were formerly lithium cobalt oxide, but more recently, they’ve been substituted with iron, manganese, aluminum, and nickel. As for the electrolyte, lithium salt is the material used in these batteries instead of sulfuric acid.

Overall, understanding the materials that make up a forklift battery can help you gain insights into how these batteries operate. Now that you know about these materials, you can make the best decision for choosing the right battery type for your warehouse.