Amazon is switching the backup power generators at its datacenters in Europe from diesel to hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), starting with the locations in Ireland and Sweden. The action is a component of a plan to lessen the carbon impact of the company’s datacenter operations. In comparison to the diesel it now utilises as a backup, this most recent action will help the company reduce emissions by up to 90%.
“At AWS, we’re committed to and invested in sustainability because it’s a win all around—it’s good for the planet, for business, for our customers, and for our communities,” Neil Morris, Director of Infrastructure Operations, Northern Europe, at AWS said. “Transitioning to HVO is just one of the many ways we’re improving the sustainability of our data centres, decarbonising our operations, and working towards Amazon’s company-wide goal to meet net-zero carbon by 2040, ten years ahead of the Paris Agreement.”
HVO is a biofuel created by processing vegetable oils; according to AWS, the source material might be leftover or vegetable oils. Oils are reacted with hydrogen at a high temperature and pressure during the hydrotreatment process.
HVO is regarded as a renewable diesel due to its raw ingredient. The energy-intensive procedure notwithstanding, according to AWS, moving from regular diesel to HVO would still reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The corporation acknowledged that the move to HVO is a component of The Climate Promise, which is its effort to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, or a full ten years before the 2050 target stipulated in the Paris Agreement.
