Prioritizing Safety in Lithium-Ion Battery Expansion
Article from MHI Solutions Magazine
When energy is involved, safety is always a major point of emphasis, particularly in the material handling field. Founded in 2023, the Advanced Energy Council (AEC) is an industry group within MHI that represents companies that produce, implement and support advanced energy technologies and accessories. Safety unsurprisingly is a focus of the new group’s efforts so far.
“With any energy source for electricity, there’s always the potential for it to dissipate as heat and fire instead of as electricity as it’s intended,” said Robin Schneider, vice chair of the AEC and director of marketing at MHI member Green Cubes Technology Corporation. “So, safety is inherently a concern. Part of what our group is doing is looking holistically at how we can safely and efficiently power material handling equipment.”
Lithium-ion batteries are the focus of the AEC group. While the batteries represent a relatively new energy source, they are growing in popularity as a sustainable, safe option for powering such material handling equipment as forklifts and autonomous mobile robots. From the outset of their introduction to the field, Maxim Khabur, chair of the AEC, said safety was the chief consideration…
