There is an interesting technology that is slowly edging into the telecom industry. There are a handful of places that are using hydrogen fuel cell generators instead of the more standard diesel generators for backup power. Everybody who works with a telecom network is aware of the wide use of diesel backup generators that kick in when commercial power fails. Diesel generators are permanently installed for critical hub sites, and telecom companies use portable generators that can be quickly driven to remote powered sites like huts and cabinets.
Diesel generators have a few drawbacks. Diesel fuel in notoriously challenging to use in very cold weather. Diesel generators also expel clouds of oily smoke. The biggest downside to diesel generators is that they are loud – the larger the generator, the louder. The largest diesel generators used for large sites like data centers can operate at 110 decibels, the same sound level as a rock concert. One of the biggest complaints about neighbors of data centers is the loud noise when generators are being tested.
Hydrogen fuel cells offer an alternative to the shortcomings of diesel generators. They are nearly silent in operation. The technology doesn’t generate any heat. Most impressively, hydrogen generators don’t generate any pollution since the waste product of a hydrogen fuel cell is water.
Hydrogen fuel cells operate by a simple chemical reaction. In a hydrogen fuel cell, pure hydrogen is passed by an anode that separates the hydrogen molecule into protons and electrons. The electrons are used to power the applicable application, such as the electricity from the backup generator. The protons are passed through an electrolytic membrane where they combine with oxygen to form water.
Hydrogen fuel cell technology has been used in practical applications for decades. An early version of a hydrogen fuel cell was used to provide the electricity for the Apollo spacecraft in the 1960s. The technology began to be practically used in the 1990s when cities created zero-emission bus fleets operated by hydrogen. There are now delivery trucks that use hydrogen technology. There have been successful tests using hydrogen fuel cells to power trains and airplanes. Most car companies have experimented with making hydrogen-fueled cars. Several countries are experimenting with hydrogen power in submarines because of the silent operation and the lack of heat.
Hydrogen fuel cells have a potential place in telecom. In 2020, Microsoft was able to operate a data center continuously for two days with hydrogen fuel cell generators. Tele2 and Telia are using hydrogen fuel cell generators for telecom sites in Estonia.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a33499249/microsoft-hydrogen-generator-test/
There are practical downsides to using hydrogen on a commercial basis, although cities with fleets of hydrogen buses have solved the biggest problems. Hydrogen has a low volumetric energy density, which requires storing it in large quantities. Bus fleets have solved this issue by storing hydrogen in vehicles at high pressure, which carries a different set of risks. Hydrogen is flammable, but so are fossil fuels used for combustion generators. The solution to the widespread use of hydrogen as a fuel would be to develop hydrogen depots, which would be the equivalent of gas stations, where hydrogen canisters could be refilled or swapped.
For now, the biggest downside is probably the upfront cost of the generators and the infrastructure that is needed to store the gas to support them. However, cities say that ongoing costs compare favorably to diesel generators. The number one way to get costs down would be widespread adoption, which would bring economies of scale to manufacturing the units.
This seems like a technology that data center operators should be interested in. The public is increasingly pushing back against the noise and pollution created by data centers, and hydrogen generators would help to lessen the negative impacts on those living close to a data center.
I don’t see this going anywhere. Hydrogen is an expensive fuel. It costs more to produce in energy input and money than diesel fuel, it’s another ‘green’ tech waiting on an energy breakthrough or political breakthrough on nuclear to be cheap. Hydrogen production being primarily fossil-fuel powered.
The reason a diesel generator is 110dB is because it’s cheaper to put one in without an exhaust system. It’s pretty easy to get these down to ~70dB with an exhause system and walls. It’s not done because it just doesn’t have to be and it costs more. And running diesels generators in the winter is also a non-issue. It’s done in the arctic, it’s just another bit of cost in a fuel additive and/or underground tanks, which is done by almost every single fuel station everywhere.
ie, since Hydrogen costs more, datacenters wont do this. If they get pressure about noise, they’ll put exhaust systems and enclosures in because that’s cheaper. Only a ‘green’ initiative from either law/ordinance or extreme public pressure would make them go to a more expensive and far far far less convenient hydrogen system that requries rare earth metals.
new battery tech and lower prices in my opinion is far more likely to be added to datacenters than a switch to hydrogen generators. local pressure to quiet the diesel generators to, and most communities facing new datacenter builds should be fighting for noise mitigation before they’re built.
Hi Doug:
One of the biggest problems with converting to hydrogen (or any alternative fuel) is the lack of distribution infrastructure. Not surprisingly, California is developing some hydrogen infrastructure, and you can find retail hydrogen fueling stations in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. It would be much harder for someone wanting to use hydrogen for powering big consumers like data centers, or even places like hospitals, just because of the lack of distribution infrastructure, whereas diesel is available in huge quantities all across the world.
I just don’t see transport happening. WAY more expensive.
However, I could see on-site generation and storage on appropriately large sites. They would need incredibly cheap power to beat the price of diesel, but they need incredibly cheap power to drive AI so I guess we’re getting nukes?