Not one, but 5 Amazon electric trucks have taken up service in the UK. The e-commerce giant, and increasingly global logistics, has made it clear that it is well beyond the experimental stage. Because of these 37-ton heavy goods vehicles (HGV) by the end of the year, another 4 will arrive: “These 5 vehicles replace heavy diesel vehicles, with the result that 160,000 km of road per year powered by renewable electricity instead of diesel they will prevent the emission of 170 tons of CO2, “the company noted. It should be remembered that heavy transport in the country is responsible for around 16% of the emissions of the entire segment.
The new means, made by the Dutch Daf, operate out of Amazon’s fulfillment centers in Tilbury and Milton Keynes. The first is a town about 50 km east of London, near the ramparts of the same name on the Thames; the second is north-west of the capital, 80 km away, on the road to Luton airport. The intent is to use them for the so-called “intermediate mile”or rather for deliveries between distribution centers, alongside the 1000 electric vans that in the UK already contribute to the management of the last mile.
Daf he explained that the 4×2 tractor unit is equipped with a 210 kW electric motor (240 kW of peak power) combined with a 350 kWh battery pack (315 actual kWh). Full charging should take place in about 75 minutes using a charging station with a capacity of 250 kW: “Amazon is one of the first companies in the world to put electric trucks on the road for the transport of heavy goods – said John Boumphrey, country manager. by Amazon UK – We are committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2040 and this is a milestone while we continue to decarbonise our transport network so that we can deliver more orders to customers using zero-emission vehicles. “
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Where are we with robots doing deliveries instead of Amazon’s couriers?
by Emanuele Capone
The goal is 2040
In 2019, Amazon helped found the Climate Pledgea commitment to achieve zero CO2 emissions in all its activities by 2040, that is “10 years ahead of the targets set by the Paris Agreement”.
The underlying theme is that as many scientists claim there is one limited time window “to act with a view to limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees by 2050”, as recalled by the company. So the only possibility is to rely on collective action; in this case by companies from different sectors. Today we are talking about more than 200 signatories from 21 countriesrelated 26 industrial fields.
The commitments include that of regularly measuring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions and implementing decarbonisation strategies in line with the Paris Agreement through changes and innovations that lead to improved efficiency, the use of renewable energy, the recycling of materials and other strategies aimed at eliminating CO2 emissions. Finally, neutralize any residual emissions “by adopting additional compensatory measures, quantifiable, real, permanent and with a positive social impact, so as to achieve zero net annual CO2 emissions by 2040”.
The sustainable logistics it is one of these plans, and the electrification of the delivery fleets is considered one of the most strategic moves.
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The electric vans and the Rivian case
In 2019, Amazon ordered US startup Rivian as many as 100,000 electric delivery vehicles: these are 3 types of vehicles of different sizes, with the smallest capable of a load space similar to that of a Fiat Ducato. These Rivian EDV 500, 700 and 900 (the abbreviation stands for Electric Delivery Van) should have a range between 190km and 320km.
The first model began to be driven in Los Angeles in February 2021 and by the end of last year, the experimentation should have continued in 15 other cities in the country, but lockdowns and a shortage of components have slowed down the plans. It is still unclear whether Rivian will allow Amazon to deliver on its promise to put 10,000 vehicles on the road by the end of 2022 and 100,000 by 2030.
A few weeks ago, Rivian posted a negative quarterly report (54 million dollars) which was one million higher than the entire turnover in 2021, obviously burdened by the blocking of production due to the pandemic. As if that were not enough, losses reached 4.69 billion, while Ford canceled all co-development projects last fall, the image is at a low due to the recent decision to increase list prices by 20% (followed by a quick reverse) and deliveries of hardware components may be further delayed.
Amazon has invested at least $ 1.3 billion in Rivian, according to the New York Times, and blocked exclusive rights to its commercial vans for 4 years. But trust is not blind, and in fact it was in January collaboration with Stellantis announced for the development of a new software platform for vehicles and the purchase of Ram ProMaste 2023 electric vans. Then there is the agreement signed with Daimler for 1,800 electric vans and with Mahindra for 10,000 3-wheel electric vehicles. And finally, the order for 2500 fully electric Lion Electric trucks to be fulfilled by 2025.
In summary, the company founded by Jeff Bezos points in every way to Shipment Zero: deliver 50% of shipments with zero CO2 emissions by 2030. And, in fact, the experimentation of alternative delivery methods that also include hydrogen-powered trucks is also continuing.