Amazon Stockton delivery station targets 50% lower energy use

Amazon’s new £40m delivery station in Stockton-on-Tees is designed to use around 50% less energy than a typical logistics building, with solar panels and energy-efficient heating helping to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.

The 10,800 sq m facility, opened on 21 October, has been designed to meet the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard. It is also the first building in Amazon’s global network designed to meet the latest version of the Living Future Institute’s Zero Carbon Certification.

The delivery station uses electric heat pumps instead of gas heating, alongside energy recovery systems that capture heat from ventilation. Air curtains at loading bays help maintain indoor temperatures as delivery vehicles enter and leave the building.

Amazon estimates the site will use nearly three times less energy than the reduction required by its net-zero carbon certification. Rooftop solar panels are designed to help power the facility, while water-saving plumbing fixtures are expected to reduce water consumption by about 20% compared with conventional designs.

The building’s construction also uses lower-carbon materials to reduce emissions. These include almost 1,500 tonnes of steel made with high recycled content and renewable electricity, more than 200 tonnes of mass timber and over 4,400 cubic metres of lower-carbon concrete.

Amazon says these materials and construction methods have reduced embodied carbon emissions by at least 20% compared with its previous design standards.

The company helped develop the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard, which provides a framework for measuring and reducing building-related carbon emissions.

Formal certification of the Stockton facility will depend on a review of its performance after a full year of operation. Third-party assessors are expected to examine energy and carbon data in 2027.

The site will serve customers across North Yorkshire and County Durham and has created about 100 local jobs. Amazon says it will share findings from the project to inform the design of future buildings across its network.

Image credit: Amazon