A tech consortium is leading the development of fuel cell-powered data centers with a low climate footprint

A tech consortium is leading the development of fuel cell-powered data centers with a low climate footprint

RISE is part of a consortium of seven organizations now selected by the European Commission to develop the next generation of fuel cell platform for data center operations. The hope is to be able to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 100 percent.

The initiative is funded with 2.5 million euros and is part of the EU's program for research on fuel cells and hydrogen, The Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking. The project in which RISE participates is called EcoEdge PrimePower (E2P2) and is an initiative that aims to develop fuel cells with a very low climate footprint.

- We all know that digitalisation and data centers are key elements for a sustainable future, where innovation is at the core of the journey towards our global 2030 goals. As researchers at RISE, we focus on being a strong part of the E2P2 team, driving technology development and demonstrating in a transparent way new sustainable solutions for primary power for the digital infrastructure of the future, says Jon Summers, senior researcher at RISE.

A consortium of seven companies - Equinix, InfraPrime, RISE, Snam, SolidPower, TEC4FUELS and Vertiv - will develop and test an innovative system of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) with uninterruptible power supply (UPS) technology and lithium-ion batteries to provide a stable and environmentally friendly and other critical infrastructure. Implementation of natural gas-powered SOFC as a primary power source will be crucial to pave the way for the use of green hydrogen for fuel cell application, for both reserve and primary power.

- Thanks to our support for research and development of fuel cells, we have laid a strong foundation for European industry to lead the development of new technologies. We are proud that the E2P2 project will provide clean fuel cell-based energy to data centers thanks to a solid consortium that brings together the entire value chain. Projects such as E2P2 are absolutely necessary to be able to offer solutions that open up market potential and contribute to the EU's ambitious climate goals, says Bart Biebuyck, Executive Director, Clean Hydrogen Partnership.

The E2P2 project aims to be able to demonstrate a realistic concept where urban power grids can use fuel cells from green hydrogen and also not be dependent on diesel generators for reserve power.

- Fuel cells are a cleaner and quieter power solution that can greatly reduce carbon dioxide emissions from data centers. At the same time, the project helps to support the growing hydrogen and renewable energy economy in Europe, says Jon Summers, senior researcher at RISE. One of the world's leading companies in data centers, American Equinix, is a partner in the consortium that runs E2P2.

- The E2P2 project enables us to develop a completely new architecture for generating, distributing and storing energy. We are thus contributing to a broad transition to sustainable hydrogen to be able to achieve our goal of being climate neutral by 2030, says Justin Dustzadeh, Chief Technology Officer at Equinix.

Press release from Equinix
https://lnkd.in/edgwXCVu