Dec 11, 2009 9:35 AM

Oorja Protonics has secured another purchase order from Super Store Industries (SSI) for its liquid methanol fuel cell technology. The additional orders underscore the cost savings and productivity increases realized by SSI after deploying Oorja’s OorjaPac Model H earlier this year. SSI is the first commercial entity in the grocery distribution market to deploy methanol fuel cells for its material handling vehicles.

These field-tested methanol fuel cells have addressed challenging conditions, such as the freezer environment, faced by material handling vehicles at SSI’s Lathrop CA facility. Since its initial installation, OorjaPac has reduced vehicle and labor downtime due to vehicle battery pack charging and swapping, and SSI has placed subsequent orders for more units, converting a significant portion of its material handling vehicles.

Earlier in 2009, SSI began to commercially deploy Oorja’s methanol fuel cells for the material handling fleet operating in its facility’s freezer to increase efficiency. An on-board charging system for forklifts, pallet loaders, and other material handling vehicles, OorjaPac allows SSI to charge batteries during times of operation and idling conditions. This results in optimized operational productivity and increased runtime for batteries on a single charge, minimizing the need to purchase multiple batteries per vehicle and eliminating multiple battery swaps throughout a full day of operation.

Founded in 2005, Oorja is a privately held company backed by venture capital firms Sequoia Capital, Spring Ventures, McKenna Management, and DAG Ventures. For more information, visit www.oorjaprotonics.com.