NACCO Materials Handling Group, Inc. (NMHG), Cleveland, Ohio, acquired Nuvera Fuel Cells, Inc., a Billerica, Mass.-based hydrogen fuel cell company. The deal reinforces the commitment of Hyster Co. and Yale Materials Handling Corp., operating divisions of NMHG, to provide a broad range of alternative energy solutions to the lift truck market and become what is said to be the first OEM manufacturers to integrate and factory-fit fuel cell technology directly into their products.

Nuvera develops and produces fuel cell stack sub-systems as well as the supporting on-site hydrogen production and dispensing systems. Hyster and Yale, which presently offer several alternative energy lift trucks, including battery-electrics and hybrids in addition to their internal combustion engines (ICEs), intend to commercialize and rapidly integrate this technology across large parts of their lift truck product ranges to offer customers an additional environmentally friendly choice. Plus, Nuvera’s Orion fuel cell stacks are configurable to accommodate aftermarket and retrofit solutions and designed to fit almost any brand electric-powered lift truck.

“Both our Hyster and Yale brands work diligently to develop innovative products that address critical market needs,” says Colin Wilson, president and CEO of NMHG. “There is no doubt that our customers want clean, fuel-efficient options in their lift trucks. This acquisition creates a unique opportunity to develop an integrated solution to optimize performance and energy efficiency. It also allows us to provide full life cycle maintenance, service and fueling requirements to meet the customers' needs and offer lower total cost of ownership.”

The acquisition also allows Hyster and Yale to provide commercial grade on-site hydrogen generation and re-fuelling capabilities.