Amazon announced that it plans to spend more than €1 billion over the next five years to electrify and decarbonize its transportation network across Europe. This will help deliver packages to customers more sustainably.
This investment is also meant to drive innovation in the industry and encourage more public charging infrastructure. This will help the broader transportation industry reduce emissions more quickly.
The company is using many zero-emission vehicles across its European operations. This investment will add even more zero-emission vehicles to its fleet, which will help the company reach net-zero carbon by 2040 - 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement.
Amazon has more than 3,000 electric vans delivering packages to customers across Europe and, with the investment announced today, expects to grow its fleet to more than 10,000 by 2025.
Amazon has created micro-mobility hubs in over 20 cities across Europe, including London, Munich and Paris. The company plans to double that number by 2025. Micro-mobility hubs are smaller delivery stations that are located in the center of a city. In Europe, these small hubs help Amazon deliver packages more sustainably. This is done by using new methods such as e-cargo bikes and on-foot deliveries. Micro-mobility hubs help reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality by taking traditional delivery vans off the road.
In addition to new vans, micro-mobility hubs and vehicles, Amazon will also invest in charging stations across its European facilities. This investment will improve the hardware for fleet charging.
Electric heavy goods vehicles (eHGV) are a promising technology for transportation. However, they have some limitations. One such limitation is the lack of production and charging infrastructure. Another limitation is the size and weight of the trucks and trailers. Despite these limitations, Amazon plans to increase their number of eHGVs on the road in the UK and Germany from five to twenty by the end of this year.
With the investment announced today, Amazon expects to purchase and roll out more than 1,500 eHGVs in its European fleet in the coming years. To power its eHGVs, Amazon will build hundreds of specialized fast chargers across its European facilities, allowing the company to charge the vehicles in approximately two hours.
Source: Amazon