Toronto, Ontario — Ontario-based battery manufacturer Electrovaya Inc has won a contract to supply lithium ion batteries for a fleet of Walmart Canada distribution centre forktrucks.
The retailer is converting the forklifts in one of its Canadian distribution centres from lead acid batteries to Electrovaya’s drop-in lithium ion battery systems. Walmart has tested the system extensively in its DCs, in cooperation with the unnamed forklift manufacturer.
Electrovaya said the purchase orders for the battery systems are worth approximately Cdn $4.3 million and deliveries are to be made by in the first quarter of 2018.
“We are very pleased to work with Walmart Canada, a leader in the introduction of green sustainable technology into the distribution and logistics industry,” said Dr. Raj Das Gupta, vicepresident, business development at Electrovaya.
“Our ceramic lithium-ion battery technology is ideally suited to intensive-use applications such as forklifts and other material handling vehicles, supporting both higher efficiency and sustainability.”
Electrovaya’s lithium ion forklift battery line, ELivate, was launched in the fall of 2016. The company sold $804,000 worth of 6V 960 Ah Lithium Ion Ceramic batteries and associated chargers to Mondelez International in July this year.
The product line, uses Electrovaya’s Lithium-ion ceramic battery technology that the company claims to offer up to six times the life cycle of existing lead-acid solutions and up to twice the life cycle of Lithium-ion products.
The ELivate product line was introduced with 36V followed by 48V models for Class I and II forklifts. The target application is heavy duty users such as 24-7 distribution centres.
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