Amazon by producing its own hydrogen

Toyota is one of the few car manufacturers that believes that hydrogen can be a good alternative fuel for power vehicles. Amazon apparently agrees, saying that hydrogen can be a more sustainable fuel for the vehicles in their warehouses. But they are aware that they will first have to optimize hydrogen production and also clean it.

Amazon plans to produce hydrogen fuel in its fulfillment centers. The American giant, in cooperation with Plug Power, installed the first electrolyzer – equipment that can split water molecules and produce hydrogen – at the fulfillment center in Aurora, Colorado.

The electrolyzer will produce fuel for approximately 225 trucks, although Plug claims it has the capacity to charge up to 400 trucks powered by hydrogen fuel cells. This is the first time that Amazon has attempted to produce its own hydrogen on-site. If the project is successful, we see no reason why it should not be expanded to other locations.

"On-site production will enable the use of hydrogen in certain locations and in certain types of facilities to be even more energy-efficient," said the press release, in which the majority has already announced the installation of the first electrolyser, said Asad Jafry, Amazon's director of the global hydrogen economy. "Hydrogen is an important tool in our efforts to decarbonize our business by 2040."

Hydrogen is said to be a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels, which is why Amazon uses it in its warehouses. However, the potential environmental benefits are still difficult to measure.

Hydrogen produces water vapor during combustion instead of greenhouse gases, making it more attractive to companies and governments working to meet climate goals. The big problem they have to solve is, above all, the cleaning of the hydrogen production process. Today, it is mostly produced with fossil fuels, mainly by the reaction between steam and methane. This releases carbon dioxide, which warms the planet. Methane leakage is also a problem, as methane is an even more controversial greenhouse gas than CO2.

The Plug company tries to solve these problems by using electrolytes for hydrogen production. Instead of methane, it uses electrical energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. If this electricity is produced from renewable energy sources such as wind or the sun, it is called green hydrogen. Although we get rid of pollution with this method, it is still much more expensive than producing hydrogen in the fossil way. The Biden administration is trying to change that with tax incentives and billions of dollars in federal funding for clean hydrogen production hubs. President Biden even invoked the Defense Production Act last year to encourage domestic production of electrolyzers.

Since 2016, Plug has supplied approximately 17,000 fuel cells for forklift trucks. than 80 Amazon fulfillment centers across North America. Most of the hydrogen for these fuel cells is produced elsewhere and delivered to the warehouse by Plug by truck.

By producing hydrogen on site, you can get rid of the exhaust gas pollution caused by trucking the fuel. However, for now, greenhouse gas emissions associated with hydrogen production at the Colorado fulfillment center are still present. Why? The electrolyzer is connected to the electrical grid, and fossil fuels still account for approximately 60 percent of the electricity in the United States.

To produce truly green hydrogen, Amazon will have to ensure that its new electrolyzer runs on renewable energy sources. According to Jafry, the company is exploring the possibility of connecting it to renewable energy sources produced on site, but does not yet have a concrete timetable for when that might happen.

Hydrogen can be a good alternative, especially for heavier machines and towing vehicles. The problem, as they say, is its production, the energy density, which is worse compared to the electric drive, and the establishment of a distribution network, which presents many obstacles.