Small step towards green data center power tested in Dublin

In a net-zero world, it added, “converting renewable energy into green hydrogen and storing it for use in periods when the sun is not shining and wind is not blowing will be extremely beneficial. The deployment of electrolysers (electricity to hydrogen) and fuel cells (hydrogen to electricity) enable this conversion process.”

In a statement to Network World, Equinix said of the test itself that the Dublin IBX had a “preview of introducing alternative energy solutions to power data centers, which are traditionally very energy dependent. Hydrogen fuel cells can offer a more sustainable alternative, which can be used to offer demand response and stabilising services to the electricity grid.”

Their introduction, the company said, is another “evolution worth exploring in Equinix’s sustainability development plans and goal to achieve 100% renewable energy coverage by 2030.” It said that Dublin is the first IBX to test hydrogen fuel cells.

When it comes to fuel cell technology, said Beran, “one of the important things that is sometimes thought about, but most of the times overlooked, is how the hydrogen that a fuel cell runs on is made is ultimately the determining factor in how sustainable (they) are today and can be in the future.”

Today, he said, there are hydrogen fuel cells being utilized in the same manner as the Equinix proof of concept, “but more times that not, gray hydrogen is used, which has carbon emissions associated with it. It is still not this holy grail of green hydrogen that we are trying to get to.”

An MIT article posted earlier this year stated that, although green hydrogen is much cleaner, on average, than other methods of producing hydrogen, “exactly how clean (it is) depends on supply chains and how consistently the equipment producing it can run.”