Rather than having it delivered, Amazon wants to produce its own hydrogen to power its vehicles and warehouse carts. A group distribution center has just received its first electrolyser.
Amazon wants to explore the path to green hydrogen, by installing electrolysers in its warehouses. It is in partnership with the global specialist Plug Power that the e-commerce giant has just installed a first electrolyzer in its distribution center located in Aurora, Colorado. Soon, it should produce enough energy to power 225 forklifts. And that’s just the beginning.
Amazon launches its green hydrogen revolution
The online sales juggernaut will therefore produce low-carbon hydrogen. This is just one of the many actions implemented by Amazon to try to completely decarbonize its activities by 2040, an objective that many criticize, considering that the group does communication and marketing Green.
Meanwhile, the proton exchange membrane electrolyzer which has just been commissioned at the Aurora warehouse in the United States will produce enough hydrogen to power more than 225 forklifts, which will operate at using a hydrogen fuel cell. Plug Power, which is collaborating with Amazon on this operation, even promises to be able to power up to 400 carts on site.
Produced by electrolysis, hydrogen emits water vapor rather than greenhouse gases when burned, making it more attractive for meeting climate goals.
Everything is not so green yet
However, there are still limits to this process. Because the majority of hydrogen today is produced from fossil fuels. The electrolyzer installed in the Amazon distribution center is itself powered by an electricity grid where fossil fuels represent around 60%, which still generates CO emissions2.
The next step is to integrate renewable energy sources to power the electrolyzer. This is, for Amazon, an objective of its energy revolution, even if no precise timetable has been put forward here. But regardless, on-site hydrogen production offers potential benefits, such as eliminating pollution from trucking.
By 2025, the company has set a goal of purchasing enough renewable energy to match its electricity consumption. There is still work to do: its carbon footprint has increased by 39% since 2019. Suffice it to say that Amazon has so far only found the beginning of a response to its environmental challenges.
Source : Plug / Amazon
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