Amazon announces plan to adopt green hydrogen to decarbonize operations

Amazon signed an agreement with Plug Power to "supply 10,950 tons per year of green hydrogen," which will replace grey hydrogen, diesel and other fossil fuels.

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Starting in 2025, Amazon signed a deal that would transition its transportation and building operations to green hydrogen as the company works to decarbonize its operations. The retail giant said it’s committed to urgent climate action.

Amazon signed an agreement with Plug Power to “supply 10,950 tons per year of green hydrogen,” which will replace grey hydrogen, diesel and other fossil fuels. As the retailer works to decarbonize its operations, the green hydrogen will “provide enough annual power for 30,000 forklifts or 800 heavy-duty trucks used in long-haul transportation.”

“Amazon is proud to be an early adopter of green hydrogen given its potential to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors like long-haul trucking, steel manufacturing, aviation, and ocean shipping,” Kara Hurst, vice president of Worldwide Sustainability at Amazon, said. “We are relentless in our pursuit to meet our Climate Pledge commitment to be net-zero carbon across our operations by 2040 and believe that scaling the supply and demand for green hydrogen, such as through this agreement with Plug Power, will play a key role in helping us achieve our goals.”

While 95 percent of the hydrogen supply is currently made from fossil fuels, Amazon said it will help change that to foster the growth of green hydrogen through a zero-carbon pathway using water and renewable electricity.

Image Credit: Amazon

“We already have more than 70 fulfillment centers outfitted with hydrogen storage and dispensing systems, which will allow us to start using green hydrogen to replace fossil fuels,” Dean Fullerton, vice president of Global Engineering and Security Services at Amazon, said. “Today, we use that system to power over 15,000 fuel-cell propelled forklifts, with plans to grow that number to 20,000 across 100 fulfillment centers by 2025. That’s just the start.”

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