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Fuel cell forklifts have an advantage over conventional battery-powered forklifts, according to a report released by the Nagoya Port Authority (NPA), which adds that it is important, as such, to fully discuss locations for hydrogen fueling stations in advance to proceed with implementation.
It has been proved in a demonstration that it only takes three to five minutes at the longest just to refuel hydrogen, giving an advantageous position to fuel cell forklifts over conventional forklifts, which require as much as eight hours until their batteries are fully recharged. It has also been proved that it takes approximately 20 minutes to complete a round of hydrogen refueling work that ranges from preparation to equipment withdrawal.
The demonstration was conducted by Suzuki Shokan in October 2025. The Tokyo-based company provided three fuel cell forklifts each to Nippon Express (NX) and two Nagoya-headquartered logistics service providers: Fujitrans and Meiko Trans, which deployed dedicated vehicles to refuel the fuel cell forklifts.
Hydrogen refueling requires certain distances; therefore, business operators that do not have sufficient spaces such as spacious parking lots cannot secure such distances. Neither do operators that have buildings close to property boundary lines. For these reasons, it is legally difficult for such operators to perform hydrogen refueling work.
The NPA points out that to promote the implementation of fuel cell forklifts, it is important to fully discuss locations for refueling stations in advance. The port authority adds that fuel cell forklifts are more advantageous for business operators that a difficulty securing sufficient time for recharging batteries as hydrogen refueling can be completed in much shorter periods of time.
