Materials Handling Vehicles : Policy Framework for an Emerging Fuel Cell Market

There are several challenges to wide-spread commercialisation of the technology hydrogen fuel-cell technology; including reliability and cost implications, infrastructure requirements, and safety aspects of the upcoming technology. Targeted policy initiatives are required to address two significant bottlenecks; reliability and cost constraints. Such policy measures and financial mechanisms providing incentives for manufacturers and end-users of the novel technology create an initial impetus for the introduction of the forthcoming technology into the market place. The current approach, policy mechanisms and their impacts are reviewed in the context of demonstration projects, deploying material handling equipment, involving public-private initiatives.