China’s largest retailer JD.com has launched a fleet of hydrogen energy delivery trucks in Greater Shanghai. They take three minutes to refill, can travel for 300km per tank while carrying up to 3.5 tons of cargo, and emit only purified water.
The new fleet is the first sizeable commercial deployment of hydrogen-powered vehicles for logistics in China. It’s also the latest move by JD.com to make last mile delivery carbon-free after it rolled out a fleet of 50 solar-powered delivery vehicles in Beijing last month.
“The strength of JD sustainable initiatives shows that a green approach to logistics is beneficial for the environment, and much more. By investing in these technologies and encouraging partners to do the same, JD hopes to promote green logistics across industries,” said Hui Wang, vice president of JD.com, head of the delivery department at JD Logistics.
“These first forays into the world of renewable energy are the beginning of what will be a complete overhaul of the way we deliver goods to JD’s customers across the country on a daily basis. It’s a very exciting time.”
JD has already established fleets of renewably-powered vehicles in major cities across China, including Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu, and an incentive system will encourage JD’s third-party logistics partners to switch hundreds of thousands of their delivery vehicles to renewable sources as well.
Image credit: JD.com
