(CNB) AMAZON DRONE DELIVERY - THIS YEAR

Amazon’s MK27-2 drops a box from a hover after scanning the area below to make sure it’s clear

Nearly a decade after Jeff Bezos first announced drone delivery, Amazon says it’s finally ready to start air-dropping packages — literally.

The latest drone model will drop packages from 12 feet in the air.

“If the drone encounters another aircraft when it’s flying, it’ll fly around that other aircraft. If, when it gets to its delivery location, your dog runs underneath the drone, we won’t deliver the package,” said Calsee Hendrickson, who leads product and program management for the Prime Air drone program.

Hendrickson gave CNBC a first look at the drone, the MK27-2, on Thursday. She said it will start making deliveries in Lockeford, California, and College Station, Texas, by the end of 2022. Some residents in the small rural town of Lockeford have expressed concerns about privacy and safety. Amazon insists the drones are safe.

“We like to refer to the drone as being independently safe, which means that it has the power to make the decision. It saw something that had a heat signature underneath the drone and was able to not deliver a package and return back to the station. But the drones do have an operator in command that is overseeing the entire airspace,” Hendrickson said.

The drone is about five-and-a-half feet in diameter and weighs 80 pounds, according to Hendrickson. It can only carry packages weighing less than five pounds, and deliveries must fit in one box about the size of a shoe box.

The box is loaded into the back and secured inside, then the drone takes off vertically, similar to a helicopter, using six propellers. Once in the air, it rotates into a forward position and the hexagon surrounding the drone serves as its wings. Hendrickson said it flies at about 50mph. Once at the delivery location, it descends vertically, scans the area to make sure it’s clear, then drops the box from a hover 12 feet above the ground.

The drone can fly 12 kilometers roundtrip, and is fully autonomous. The drone needs ample clear space beneath it to drop the box.

Amazon says thousands of items are eligible for drone delivery, a small percentage of the vast assortment available on its marketplace.

“We’ve made sure that all of those products are both capable of being okay when they are delivered, and our packaging, which is displayed behind me as well, is a special packaging that ensures that the integrity of the product is still intact after the delivery,” Hendrickson said.

Prime Air has been slow-going since it started testing in 2013. It made a single drone delivery in 2016 but has reportedly hit major setbacks since, such as high turnover and crashes.

It reached a key milestone in August 2020 when the Federal Aviation Administration gave Amazon approval to operate the drones.

On Thursday, Amazon also announced the next model, the MK30, which it says will launch in 2024.

Amazon says the MK30 is smaller, will be 25% less noisy than the MK27-2, and will be able to fly in light rain. CNBC - link - Katie Tarasov - link - more like this (Amazon) - link - more like this (drones) - link

(HFN) AMAZON PARTNERS PLUG POWER FOR GREEN H2

Plug Power Inc. has announced the signing of a new deal with Amazon.com Inc. for the supply of liquid green hydrogen to the online marketplace giant.

Amazon stated that Plug Power is going to provide it with 10,950 tons of renewable H2 per year beginning in 2025. The goal is to use it as a replacement for gray H2, diesel and other forms of fossil fuel. At the time of the initial announcement, neither company disclosed any of the details regarding the supply pricing for the H2.

Green hydrogen is often viewed as a primary component of clean energy’s future. The reason is that it is produced using electrolyzers powered by renewable electricity. This means that it generates greenhouse gas emissions neither when it is produced nor when it is used as an energy source. This clean fuel source is also flexible and can be used for everything from transportation applications to electricity generation.

Gray H2 is produced using natural gas, a fossil fuel, without carbon capture and storage. It represents the majority of the H2 production per year – around 90 million tons annually.

The new agreement between the companies will provide adequate H2 to power about 30,000 forklifts or 800 heavy-duty trucks, according to Amazon. The largest retailer in the world also stated that it already uses H2 to power more than 15,000 forklifts powered by forklifts and intends to raise that number to 20,000 units by the end of 2025.

Amazon has also placed an order with Rivian Automotive Inc. for an additional 100,000 electric delivery vehicles.

Plug Power added that its green hydrogen deal with Amazon will provide it will growth toward its intention to achieve $3 billion in revenue by 2025. It went on to add that it has provided Amazon with a warrant to purchase up to 16 million of its shares at a $22.9841 per unit exercise price for the first 9 million shares.

Amazon can vest the warrant in full if it spends $2.1 billion in Plug products throughout the length of the seven-year agreement. Hydrogen Fuel News - link - John Max - link - more like this (H2) - link - more like this (Amazon) - link

(INS) AMAZON E-BIKES REPLACING VANS

Whenever you buy stuff on Amazon or other online retail platforms, did you ever stop to think of the intricate inner workings of how orders are placed, packed, shipped, and delivered to your doorstep? Unsurprisingly, shipping stuff around the globe consumes a lot, and I mean a lot of energy.

With today’s generation being more fixated on sustainability and reducing carbon emissions more than ever before, even the smallest changes to the way we consume energy can go a long way in helping us achieve our goals. 

This is exactly why Amazon is tackling things from a micro perspective, and has begun testing small electric cargo bikes in densely populated cities. These EVs are meant to replace the company’s aging fleet of delivery vans, which apart from producing emissions, take up a lot more space than the cargo electric bikes.

In a recent article by Electrek, Amazon’s efforts of testing cargo e-bikes in London were highlighted. In the article, Amazon UK’s Country Manager John Boumphrey stated: “Amazon is driving towards a global net-zero carbon future. One way we’re doing that is through the transformation of our transportation networks. Our new e-cargo bikes, walkers and growing electric vehicle delivery fleet will help us make more zero emission customer deliveries than ever before across London and the UK in the coming months.”

Wait, walkers? Yes, that’s right. Alongside the electric cargo bikes, Amazon is also employing delivery walkers to handle close-quarters deliveries in densely populated areas. With this setup, mobile package hubs, possibly powered by the previously mentioned electric cargo bikes, will supply delivery walkers with parcels to be delivered within the vicinity. This allows a much smoother workflow, with delivery personnel no longer needing to worry about things like parking, refueling, or recharging their vehicles.

As for the case of the electric cargo bikes, well, they aren’t bikes per se, as they’re equipped with four wheels. However, they do make use of an e-bike drivetrain and offer pedal assist functionality. Furthermore, an electric bike battery powers the system, and ultimately relies on the delivery rider’s pedaling input to propel the vehicle. 

As it would turn out, Amazon isn’t the only company in the retail, courier, and delivery industry looking to make the green shift. UPS has also begun testing electric miniature delivery vans in Scotland and New York City. DHL is also testing similar EVs in the U.K. market. insideevs - link - Enrico Punsalang - link - more like this (last mile ev) - link - more like this (Amazon) - link

(REU) BRAZIL DOUBLES DEFORESTATION

An aerial view shows logs that were illegally cut from the Amazon rainforest in Anapu, Para state, Brazil, September 2, 2019. Picture taken with a drone September 2, 2019. REUTERS/Nacho Doce

SAO PAULO, May 6 (Reuters) - Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon surged to record levels for the month of April, nearly doubling the area of forest removed in that month last year -- the previous April record -- preliminary government data showed on Friday, alarming environmental campaigners.

In the first 29 days of April, deforestation in the region totaled 1,012.5 sq km (390 sq miles), according to data from national space research agency Inpe. The agency, which has compiled the monthly DETER-B data series since 2015/2016, will report data for the final day of April next week.

April is the third monthly record this year, after new highs were also observed in January and February.

Destruction of the Brazilian Amazon in the first four months of the year also hit a record for the period of 1,954 sq km (754 sq miles), an increase of 69% compared to the same period of 2021 – clearing an area more than double the size of New York City.

Deforestation in the Amazon has soared since right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro took office in 2019 and weakened environmental protection. Bolsonaro argues that more farming and mining in the Amazon will reduce poverty in the region.

"The cause of this record has a first and last name: Jair Messias Bolsonaro," said Marcio Astrini, head of Brazilian advocacy group Climate Observatory, in a statement.

Bolsonaro's office directed questions to the ministries of environment and justice. The ministries said in a joint statement the government was making major efforts to fight environmental crimes and that police and environmental authorities were cooperating on an operation to combat deforestation in five Amazon states.

Even with deforestation already on the rise, Climate Observatory said its analysts were astounded by such a high reading in April, which is part of the rainy season when the muddy forest is harder for loggers to access.

Preservation of the Amazon is vital to stopping catastrophic climate change because of the vast amount of climate-warming carbon dioxide it absorbs.

Ane Alencar, science director of the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM), said she had expected deforestation to keep rising ahead of the October presidential election, like it has in Brazil's past three election years, as officials wary of angering voters generally do less to enforce the law. Still, she called the surge in deforestation last month "absurd."

"It seems that the clearing of forests has become institutionalized in the country as something common, with record after record," Alencar said. Reuters - link - Jake Spring - link - more like this (Amazon) - link - more like this (Tipping Points) - link

(INS) AMAZON ADDS DAF ELECTRIC TRACTORS TO UK FLEET

DAF, a Dutch truck manufacturer, announced the delivery of five battery-electric CF Electric tractors to Amazon UK.

The vehicles have a GCW of 37,000 kg and thanks to a 350 kWh battery (315 kWh usable), its range is up to 220 km (137 miles).

The five DAF CF Electric are the first middle mile trucks that entered operation in the Amazon fleet in Europe. The company set a goal to achieve 50% of shipments with net-zero carbon by 2030.

Amazon is not a newbie to electrification, as it's a key investor in Rivian, and already ordered thousands of electric vans - including 100,000 from Rivian and more recently also from Stellantis' RAM.

John Boumphrey, Amazon UK Country Manager said:

“Amazon is one of the first companies in the world to put electric heavy goods trucks on the road. We’re committed to becoming net-zero carbon by 2040, and this is a milestone as we continue to decarbonize our transportation network so we can deliver more customer orders using zero emissions vehicles.”

DAF Trucks’ Director Fleet Sales, Eelco van Veen said:

“We are excited to bring the DAF CF Electric into Amazon’s fleet and support their commitment to The Climate Pledge. The DAF CF Electric truck represents an important step in the industry towards zero emission middle mile distribution. It has been developed in response to rising demand for better air quality and lower CO2 emissions in the transportation sector. Thanks to smart planning and fast charging the CF Electric can clock up to 500 kilometres per day. That is a figure operators really can work with insideevs - link - Mark Kane - link - more like this (electric HGVs) - link - more like this (Amazon) - link

(NYT) EXHAUSTED AMAZON

Fighting a fire in the Brazilian Amazon near Rio Pardo in 2019.Credit...Victor Moriyama for The New York Times

The Amazon is losing its ability to recover from disturbances like droughts and land-use changes, scientists reported Monday, adding to concern that the rainforest is approaching a critical threshold beyond which much of it will be replaced by grassland, with vast consequences for biodiversity and climate change.

The scientists said their research did not pinpoint when this threshold, which they described as a tipping point, might be reached.

“But it’s worth reminding ourselves that if it gets to that tipping point, that we commit to losing the Amazon rainforest, then we get a significant feedback to global climate change,” said one of the scientists, Tim Lenton, director of the Global Systems Institute at the University of Exeter in England.

Losing the rainforest could result in up to 90 billion tons of heat-trapping carbon dioxide getting put back into the atmosphere, he said, equivalent to several years of global emissions. That would make limiting global warming more difficult. 

Among previous studies there has been a large degree of uncertainty as to when such a threshold might be reached. But some research has concluded that deforestation, drying and other factors could lead to substantial forest dieback in the Amazon by the end of this century.

Carlos Nobre, a senior scientist at the National Institute of Amazonian Research in Brazil and one of the first to sound alarm over the potential loss of the Amazon more than three decades ago, described the new study as “very compelling.”

“It raised my level of anxiety,” said Dr. Nobre, who was not involved in the research.

Covering more than two million square miles in Brazil and neighboring countries, the Amazon is the world’s largest rainforest, and serves a crucial role in mitigating climate change in most years by taking in more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it releases. In its diversity of plant and animal species, it is as rich as or richer than anywhere else on the planet. And it pumps so much moisture into the atmosphere that it can affect weather beyond South America.

The New York Times - link - Henry Fountain - link - more like this - link

(SCO) AMAZON'S FIRST SCOTTISH WIND FARM POWERS UP

The Amazon wind farm facility, located on the Kintyre Peninsula, is one of the largest unsubsidised onshore wind farms in operation in the UK.

Amazon’s first Scottish wind farm project has come online, helping to supply the internet giant’s power-hungry warehouses and data centres.

The facility, located on the Kintyre Peninsula, is one of the largest unsubsidised onshore wind farms in operation in the UK.

Amazon is purchasing 100 per cent of the output from the 50 megawatt (MW) wind farm, which is expected to deliver enough energy to power the equivalent of 46,000 UK homes.

The online retailer is the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy in Europe with announced investments to supply in excess of 2.7 gigawatts (GW) of new electricity production capacity.

The energy generated from these projects will power Amazon and AWS data centres, corporate offices and fulfilment centres across the UK.

John Boumphrey, UK country manager for Amazon, said: “Amazon is on a path to powering our operations with 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025, five years ahead of schedule. We are excited that our first Scottish wind farm is now contributing to that goal, and we have three more large-scale renewable projects in development across the UK.”

John Boumphrey, UK country manager for Amazon, said: “Amazon is on a path to powering our operations with 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025, five years ahead of schedule. We are excited that our first Scottish wind farm is now contributing to that goal, and we have three more large-scale renewable projects in development across the UK.” The Scotsman - link - Scott Reid - link - more like this - link - more like this (Amazon) - link