‘If this pilot delivers on our expectations, it adds real momentum to Ireland’s decarbonisation story,’ said Equinix Ireland head Peter Lantry.
Global data center Equinix is testing its first hydrogen-powered units in Ireland.
The 12-week pilot program will test two hydrogen generators built by UK clean energy company GeoPura at Equinix’s DB3 data center in Blanchardstown in Dublin. The units are currently used to support indoor cooling systems.
The pilot teamed up with GeoPura and ESB – owning one of the units. A similar joint project between ESB and Microsoft is launched in 2024.
The three partners believe the project could provide solutions to the constraints of Ireland’s grid, which is facing increasing pressure from data centers that will use 22pc of the country’s total electricity meters by 2024. That number will rise as more companies use these large energy users in Ireland.
Equinix and ESB say they will gain valuable data on carbon reduction potential as a result of the project, which will be of benefit to policy makers and universities as they assess Ireland’s renewable energy needs.
Currently, Ireland has 72 data center properties that have created more than 850,000 jobs and add more than €100bn of annual gross value to the economy, according to a March report from KPMG. The government says data centers employ only 21,000.
Meanwhile, climate activists say the rapid expansion of data centers is costing the Irish economy €715m between 2015 and 2023. The climate group Friends of the Earth, in a recent report, said that households could face an additional €1.43bn in electricity costs linked to data center growth between 2026 and 2034.
In January, the Government launched a new plan to attract more investment in energy-intensive sectors by giving companies the ability to co-locate and source indigenous renewable energy resources. Companies can still find development outside of these areas.
“As demand for data continues to grow, solutions such as hydrogen power units provide a reliable, cleaner alternative to backup generation,” said Paul Lennon, head of asset development at ESB generation trading.
Peter Lantry, managing director of Equinix Ireland said: “If this pilot delivers on our expectations, it adds real momentum to Ireland’s decarbonisation story.”
The new hydrogen generators are the first in Equinix’s 280-plus data centers around the world. The two deployed generators helped Equinix bring its energy efficiency (PEU) — a metric used to measure the energy efficiency of data centers — to below 1.3, the company said.
A low PEU means that data centers consume most of the energy used for computing. An ideal PEU is 1, which would mean that all the energy used by the facility is used for IT, excluding cooling, lighting or other support.
The units, stored in shipping containers, are powered by raw hydrogen and use fuel cell technology that allows the system to produce “clean, quiet” power, Equinix said.
They create “zero” local emissions, and produce only water and heat as by-products at the point of use. Backup generators can also respond in real time to changes in grid capacity and turn themselves on when needed.
“As the demand for digital infrastructure continues to grow, operators are facing increasing pressure to secure reliable energy, reduce emissions and minimize the impact on local communities,” said GeoPura CEO Andrew Cunningham.
“This experiment shows how hydrogen can help solve those challenges today. By combining hydrogen fuel cell technology with battery systems and uninterruptible power, we deliver reliable zero-to-zero energy that can respond quickly when needed.”
The partners also believe that hydrogen energy in this context can provide a viable low-carbon alternative for construction sites and other short-term energy needs that traditionally rely on diesel generation. Hydrogen fuel units such as these can be scaled up to 50 MW to support both backup and primary power consumption.
According to the trio, waste heat can also make a potential use in district heating projects in the future and the water can be reused in the on-site cooling system.
Don’t miss out on the information you need to succeed. Sign up for Daily BriefSilicon Republic’s digest of must-know sci-tech news.
