Amazon Web Services begins switching EU data center back up generators to HVO

In Ireland, in January 2023, Amazon Web Services (AWS) started transitioning to hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) to power backup generators at its data centre sites in Europe, with sites in Ireland and Sweden among the first to make the switch. Backup generators are used at data centre sites to provide back up power in the very rare instances when the main source of power is interrupted.

In the future, AWS aims to use HVO at all its data centre sites across Europe. For this to happen there has to be an accessible, steady, and sustainable supply of HVO. That’s why AWS is helping to develop a global supply chain, working with local organisations like Certa in Ireland, and is investing in the procurement of HVO that only comes from renewable sources, with raw materials that are traceable to their origins and not derived from sources that would impact highly biodiverse areas.