Amazon thinks hydrogen could be a more sustainable fuel for the vehicles in its warehouses. Amazon has rolled up its sleeves to produce an alternative energy source that pollutes the environment less than fossil fuels. For this reason, he started to work without slowing down. Here are the details…
Clean fuel era for Amazon: Amazon plans to produce its own hydrogen to power vehicles!
Amazon plans to produce hydrogen fuel at fulfillment centers. The retail company partnered with hydrogen company Plug Power to install the first electrolyzer at a fulfillment center in Colorado. Thanks to this electrolyzer, they will be able to split water molecules to produce hydrogen.
The electrolyzer will produce fuel for approximately 225 forklifts at the site. But Plug says it has the capacity to fuel up to 400 hydrogen fuel cell forklifts. This will be the first time Amazon has attempted to produce its own hydrogen in-house. It probably won’t be the last one.
Asad Jafry, Amazon’s global hydrogen economy director, issued a press release yesterday announcing the installation of the first electrolyser. “On-site production will make the energy use of hydrogen even more efficient for certain locations and facility types. Hydrogen will be an important tool in our efforts to decarbonize our operations by 2040,” he said in a statement. said.
Hydrogen produces water vapor instead of greenhouse gas emissions during combustion. This feature makes it more attractive to companies and governments trying to meet climate goals. But companies have a problem they need to solve: cleaning up the hydrogen production process in the first place. Today, hydrogen production is achieved using fossil fuels. In short, it is made through the reaction between steam and methane. Unfortunately, this process releases carbon dioxide, which warms our planet.
Plug is trying to solve these problems by using electrolyzers to produce hydrogen. Instead of using methane, it uses electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. If electricity is produced from renewable energy sources such as wind or solar, it is called green hydrogen. Unfortunately, although this method gets rid of pollution, it is much more expensive than making hydrogen the other way.