Lithium Technology for the Logistics of the Future: the Partnership between Flash Battery and E80 Group
9 July 2025
More and more companies operating in goods handling and distribution are choosing to capitalise on the benefits that lithium batteries bring to the logistics sector. The electrification of industrial logistics is no longer just a trend, it’s a firmly established reality driving the evolution toward smarter, more efficient and safer factories. In this context, Flash Battery’s lithium technology has marked a strategic turning point for the efficiency of E80 Group’s laser guided vehicles (LGVs), with which we have maintained a close partnership since 2013.
E80 Group LGVs equipped with Flash Battery lithium batteries in action in a production facility. Copyright E80 Group
It was back in 2013 – just one year after Flash Battery’s founding – that we began our collaboration with E80 Group: a true strategic partnership built on shared values, geographic proximity and a common mission to develop smart, efficient and safe solutions for the logistics of the future.
In 2015 the partnership was further strengthened when E80 Group acquired a 40% stake in Flash Battery, formally joining the company. This alliance has grown stronger over time, and today Flash Battery’s patented lithium technology powers more than 9,000 LGVs across 42 countries and 326 automated production facilities.
With its proprietary technology and 14 branches worldwide, E80 Group supports the world’s leading consumer goods brands, with a particular focus on the food & beverage and tissue sectors. Back in the 1990s the company based in Reggio Emilia was more than 25 years ahead of its time, pioneering the concept of Factory 4.0 by developing the first laser-guided automated vehicles.
Today, E80 Group’s strength lies in its ability to design and develop efficient, modular and scalable intralogistics solutions that deliver:
- High performance and efficiency
- Optimised flows within the facility
- Increased safety
- Traceability
- Reduced costs and waste
In this ongoing pursuit of excellence, flexibility and technological innovation, the battery must be an integral part of a tailor-made system, designed specifically for the customer’s individual requirements.
At Flash Battery every lithium battery is developed through a custom design process to meet the specific requirements of each customer application. Customisation is at the core of our industrial approach: we listen closely to the manufacturer’s needs and analyse the operating environment, work cycles, dimensional constraints and the characteristics of the electrical and mechanical systems, all with the ultimate goal of delivering a perfectly integrated solution.
Our strength lies in our ability to work alongside the customer from the very beginning, turning every input into a battery that becomes an integral part of the machine.
To maintain a sharp focus on the end customer’s goals, the R&D departments of both companies collaborate closely to define voltage, capacity and interfaces, thus ensuring that each battery works seamlessly with the vehicle like a native component.
As our CEO Marco Righi said in an interview with Il Giornale della Logistica:
“We offer customised solutions, products that are purposely designed to deliver high performance and meet our customers’ needs. Before prototyping and battery production can begin, the Flash Battery team of custom design engineers examines all the technical specifications required together with the customer and make the most appropriate Flash Battery for the vehicle's operational needs".
Our CEO Marco Righi and the President of E80 Group, Enrico Grassi, strengthen the partnership between Flash Battery and E80 Group.
Advanced Safety with LiFePO₄ Chemistry and Flash Balancing System Technology
In addition to the ability to design tailor-made batteries, Flash Battery adds value by choosing the safest, most stable chemistry on the market today: lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO₄), a compound without cobalt, an element with a high environmental impact. In industrial applications, the key priorities are long battery life and safety.
For this reason, LFP chemistry is the best choice.
The small differences between the cells in a lithium battery, in terms of capacity and internal resistance, are managed extremely efficiently thanks to our patented high-power active and passive balancing system. While traditional systems require long weekly balancing cycles (and thus LGV downtime), the Flash Balancing System equalises cells in just a few minutes every 2-3 weeks.
Our Flash Balancing System (BMS) goes beyond cell equalisation, also acting as the core of the battery’s safety system. It can precisely monitor the temperature, voltage and internal resistance of every individual cell, acting in real time to prevent any anomalies.
In line with E80 Group’s commitment to safety standards that go above and beyond regulatory requirements, the system can be enhanced with early gas detection sensors capable of anticipating thermal runaway events. A solution that puts safety first, in every condition and in every facility.
E80 Group LGVs in action in a production. Copyright E80 Group.
"The batteries used in E80 Group’s fleet of LGVs are remotely monitored and automatically send operational data to the Flash Data Center on a daily basis. This data is analysed and used to send alerts enabling predictive maintenance to eliminate machine downtime.
This cloud-based solution allows vehicle data to be aggregated, analysed and shared with the service departments at Flash Battery and E80 Group. In other words, we can work with E80’s platform in a synergistic, integrated manner to manage the fleet, delivering better support to the customer’s plant.
Thanks to this distributed intelligence, the customer’s entire facility is more efficient, consciously managed and can be continuously optimised: everything is monitored and everything can be rapidly improved, from each individual vehicle to the entire intralogistics network.
We can perform proactive and predictive analysis and take immediate action in the event of problems, while also detecting anomalies before they lead to downtime. All of this reduces safety risks, maintenance needs and related costs, while supporting operational continuity. And that’s not all.
The exchange of data between our portal and the management system also helps to optimise fleet usage and to maximise efficiency with respect to the plant’s varying operational needs by leveraging the potential of partial charges."
Inductive Charging: Seamless Efficiency
Using a single battery per vehicle, instead of two, as in the pas, eliminates the need for battery swap systems and all related maintenance costs, delivering clear economic savings.
This solution also allows partial recharging during the day, even just for five minutes, taking advantage of downtimes between jobs (opportunity charging), thereby removing the need for dedicated charging rooms and freeing up space for other operations.
Another solution developed jointly with E80 Group is the implementation of wireless inductive charging for LGVs. This increases safety since charging takes place without electrical contacts, increases system flexibility and eliminates maintenance of the charging system.
An ideal solution for plants that require 24/7 uptime, where every minute of downtime carries a high cost.
Flash Battery lithium batteries for E80 Group LGVs from 5.4kWh to 28.7kWh
