Amazon is making plans to produce hydrogen fuel at its vast network of fulfillment centres. The retail giant has partnered with hydrogen company Plug Power to install the first electrolyzer — equipment that can split water molecules to produce hydrogen — at a fulfillment centre in Aurora, Colorado, USA.
Amazon to produce hydrogen vehicles
The electrolyzer will make fuel for around 225 fork lift trucks at the site, although Plug says it has the capacity to fuel up to 400 hydrogen fuel cell-powered forklifts. This is the first time Amazon has tried to make its own hydrogen on site.
“On-site production will make the use of hydrogen even more energy efficient for certain locations and types of facilities,” Asad Jafry, Amazon’s director of global hydrogen economy, said in a press release announcing the installation of the first electrolyzer yesterday. “Hydrogen is an important tool in our efforts to decarbonize our operations by 2040.”
Hydrogen, hailed as a cleaner-burning alternative to traditional fossil fuels, is being actively integrated into Amazon’s warehousing operations. However, the tangible environmental advantages of this transition remain a subject of ongoing evaluation, contingent on the strategies adopted by policymakers and corporate entities like Amazon in shaping the hydrogen supply chain.
