Automotive Engineering - February 2023 - 10

TECHNOLOGY REPORT
ALTERNATIVE FUELS
'Electrofuels' that reduce Amazon's fleet emissions
Amazon has a goal of having 50% of its
shipments being made net-zero carbon
by 2030. In 2021, more than 100 million
packages were delivered to customers
with zero-emissions vehicles and the
company said that number will scale.
One of the retail and logistics giant's
well-known initiatives is its pledge to
purchase 100,000 Rivian electric delivery
vehicles by 2030. Initial vehicles
were delivered and put into operation in
July 2022. In September, Amazon announced
another initiative that by next
year will replace diesel fuel in its internal-combustion
delivery vehicles with
ultra-low carbon 'electrofuels.' The supplier
of that fuel to Amazon is
Sacramento, Calif.-based Infinium.
As is the case with Rivian, Amazon
has invested in Infinium through its
$2-billion Climate Pledge Fund, which
was established to help Amazon meet its
goal of being net-zero carbon by 2040.
Amazon will initially use electrofuel in its
" middle-mile fleet, " trucks that operate
from vendors and its fulfillment centers
to its sortation and delivery stations.
Proprietary process
The Infinium fuel is said to reduce greenhouse
gases by some 95% compared
with fossil fuels. The company is building
an electrofuels-production operation in
Texas that will use 'green' hydrogen -
produced with renewable power - and
Beyond the 100,000
new Rivian electric
delivery vehicles it
is acquiring through
2030, Amazon's
current fleet of diesel
vans will start using
Infinium's electrofuel
next year.
18,000 tons of recycled carbon waste to
produce the fuels.
According to Infinium CEO Robert
Schuetzle, the fuel is a combination of
CO2 and " green " hydrogen. He said to
make the blend, " Infinium uses its proprietary-technology
production process to
combine industrial carbon-dioxide waste
that would otherwise be emitted into the
atmosphere with green hydrogen produced
from renewable power. This is
done through a two-step catalytic reaction,
using proprietary catalysts to transform
the CO2 and H2 into diesel, jet fuel
and other drop-in fuels and chemicals. "
Schuetzle said his company has spent
more than a decade developing its fuelproduction
technology, which is unique
because " it provides an end-to-end
production process on-site, requiring no
post-processing or refining in the base
design. " He described the electrofuels
as " ultra-low-carbon liquid transportation
fuels " that do not require a different
kind of fuel tank in the vehicles. The
fuels are " drop-in replacements " for
traditional fossil-based fuels and can
use today's incumbent storage, tankage
and transportation infrastructure.
Multiple engine applications
Energy content of the Infinium fuel is
similar to its fossil-based alternatives.
The company currently produces diesel
products that can be used in today's
diesel engines and replacing gasoline is
not a focus, Schuetzle explained. Diesel
engines do not need to be modified
(injectors, seals, etc.), he asserted. The
fuel also can be used in marine and aircraft
engines without modifications.
Regarding emissions, Schuetzle said
the Infinium electrofuels reduce CO22
emissions by upwards of 100% over petroleum
fuels and contain no sulfur. Their
particulate (PM) constituent also is lower,
he claimed. Oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and
sulfur oxides (SOx) also are " lowered "
when combusted compared to a traditional
fossil-based fuel, the company said.
The Infinium fuel's production costs
Infinium's liquid-fuels production process catalyzes hydrogen
made from renewable energy and carbon dioxide to produce
diesel, jet fuel and a naptha used for plastics production.
10 February 2023
are based on multiple site-specific input
factors, he said. The company expects
that as electrofuels begin to scale and
key production costs are reduced, their
cost will become more competitive with
other options in the marketplace.
Steve Macaulay
AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING
FROM TOP: AMAZON; INFINIUM
Automotive Engineering - February 2023

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