Amazon begins trial of Infinium e-fuels for truck delivery fleet

Amazon has announced that it will start testing e-fuels as an alternative drive for Prime delivery vans. The company hopes that the development of low-carbon fuels will allow it to continue using its diesel fleet – and still reduce carbon.

Therefore, Amazon has partnered with Infinium. As has now become known, Amazon invested in Infinium last year in order to achieve carbon-free operation in a mix of different drives by 2040. The first trucks with the Infinium fuels are scheduled to start in 2023.

New electric fuel production facilities

The e-fuels are now being tested with the Amazon diesel fleet on the so-called middle mile, as the company announced. Infinium is currently planning to build one of the first-ever electric fuel production facilities in Texas, using renewably produced hydrogen and approximately 18,000 tons of recycled carbon waste per year.

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“We have developed this technology for nearly a decade and expect our electric fuels will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 95 percent compared to traditional fossil fuels,” said Infinium CEO Robert Schuetzle. Infinium’s “drop-in” fuel can be used directly in existing, unmodified diesel vehicles.

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According to Infinium, electric fuels are currently about twice as expensive as conventional fuels. With a partner like Amazon, things could happen faster than would be the case without a large partner. Amazon is also taking other steps to become carbon neutral.

For example, it is working on using green hydrogen (instead of gray hydrogen made from fossil fuels or other fossil fuels) to power 30,000 forklifts and 800 heavy-duty trucks. Amazon has also invested in companies developing more efficient hydrogen electrolyzers and has already ordered 100,000 electric delivery vehicles from Rivian.