(Credit: Plug Power)Walmart will get up to 20 tons of liquid green hydrogen a day as part of an agreement with Plug Power to help power the retailer's lift trucks at its distribution centers across the United States.
Plug will deliver green hydrogen using a fleet of liquid transport that it has put into service following last year’s acquisition of Applied Cryo Technologies, which included a distribution and storage network of liquid hydrogen and other cryogenic gases. Plug says the Walmart agreement is one of its first green hydrogen supply contracts.
The Department of Energy says liquid hydrogen is more economical to transport than traditional gas form because a liquid tanker truck can hold a larger amount of hydrogen than a gaseous tube trailer. Transporting the gas as liquid by truck is also necessary when there is no pipeline.
The companies have worked together for more than a decade with Walmart expanding its use of hydrogen fuel cells throughout its facility operations. Walmart started with a pilot fleet of 50 vehicles and machines in 2012, which has grown to currently more than 9,500.
Green hydrogen, which is produced through the electrolysis of water with electricity generated from zero carbon sources, is becoming a key component of clean energy resources.
Walmart is among more than 20 organizations that are a part of Building the Clean Hydrogen Economy, which is piloting programs for the industrial, heavy machinery and power sectors across the US. SoCalGas has plans for an expansive hydrogen infrastructure system, Toyota is producing and distributing the clean gas as part of its Woven City project, and the hydrogen fuel cell market is expected to reach nearly $30 billion by 2028.
The hydrogen contract is just one part of Walmart’s sustainability projects. The company recently invested in vertical farming company Plenty to produce for its California stores and last year priced its first green bond at $2 billion.
Plug, which is building a hydrogen system that includes production, storage and delivery, is targeting 70 metric tons per day of green hydrogen production by the end of this year and 1,000 metric tons per day worldwide by 2028. The company has deployed more than 50,000 fuel cell systems and 165 fueling stations worldwide and says it is the largest buyer of liquid hydrogen.
