When it comes to electrifying the commercial shipping sector, Walmart is walking the walk by deploying an electric semitruck powered by a hydrogen fuel cell.
Walmart Canada has plans to reach a 100% alternative fuel fleet, and it is branching out into different types of electric vehicles to achieve that, as per Electrek. The newly introduced hydrogen fuel cell electric semitruck comes from automaker Nikola, and it is estimated to avoid "putting nearly 100 metric tons of CO2 tailpipe emissions into the air each year," reported Electrek. It also reportedly makes Walmart Canada the first retailer in Canada to deploy a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle.
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles operate using electrical energy created from hydrogen gas combining with oxygen — rather than energy from burning gas in diesel vehicles — with only a byproduct of water vapor as opposed to car exhaust, as explained by DriveClean. While there is debate about whether hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles or battery electric vehicles are a better option, per sources such as Bacancy Systems and Edmunds.com, both technologies are still cleaner options than diesel or gasoline-powered vehicles.
The technological development of vehicles that emit zero emissions is critical to the reduction of air pollution across the globe, which plays a major part in the overall heating of the planet. When massive corporations actively commit to reducing the amount of pollution they emit, positive changes are accelerated. While individuals can make changes to reduce their air pollution, an international company like Walmart making changes goes a lot farther.
Walmart isn't alone in investing in zero-emissions vehicles like hydrogen fuel cell and electric battery-powered vehicles. PepsiCo has announced a plan to triple the size of its electric fleet, and Amazon has begun deploying electric semitrucks for shipping. These are encouraging examples of how the future of zero-tailpipe-emission vehicles continues to grow, and with it, a future of less air pollution.
During the announcement about the deployment, Walmart Canada's president and CEO Gonzalo Gebara stated, "We are proud to be introducing Walmart Canada's first hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle as a major milestone on our journey to becoming a regenerative company," as per Electrek.
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