Equinix pilots use of fuel cell in ‘shipping container’ outside datacenter

Equinix is moving forward with trials of fuel cell technology as an alternative backup power source, revealing it has a demonstration unit at one of its facilities in Dublin, Ireland.

The global datacenter and colocation provider has been looking into fuel cells powered by hydrogen for some time as a greener alternative to other energy sources. It previously said it wanted to develop proof-of-concept projects for real-world testing within its network of facilities.

This week, Peter Lantry, managing director of Equinix Ireland, claimed in a LinkedIn post that he was showing off a unit to some visiting colleagues outside one of the four International Business Exchange (IBX) datacenters it operates near the Irish capital.

“I am delighted to be able to give a little preview of the new ESB Hydrogen Fuel Cell zero carbon technology developed by GeoPura to our global Design and Operations leadership team, including Equinix Global Head of Operations Raouf Abdel at our Dublin International Business Exchange,” Lantry wrote.

“It might look like just a shipping container – but this really is the future of low carbon sustainable technology in Ireland and I’m incredibly proud to be at the forefront of a trial making use of this technology,” he added.

As Lantry disclosed, the demonstration unit was supplied by state-owned energy biz ESB, but was produced by GeoPura, a UK-based renewable energy company and its partner, Siemens Energy.

According to ESB, this type of hydrogen power unit – which does appear to be housed in a shipping container – can supply up to 250 kW of clean power when required. A demonstration unit was also hosted at ESB’s head office in Dublin in July, and units have already supplied energy for large-scale events including festivals and replaced diesel generators in some construction settings.

An Equinix spokesperson confirmed to The Register that it is just a trial of the fuel cell technology at this point: “We are also working on plans to expand the use of the fuel cell technology for a full datacenter solution in the coming months and years.”

The company rep confirmed the fuel cell units will be used for backup power rather than diesel generators.

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Last year, SK Ecoplant, a division of Korean giant SK Group, said it was planning a bit barn in Ireland powered entirely by fuel cells, to be sited to the west of Dublin, in Castlelost, County Westmeath.

Two years ago, Dutch datacenter operator NorthC claimed it was using hydrogen fuel cell technology as a backup power source, replacing diesel generator sets. But it wasn’t the first in the world – Microsoft was trying out the technology back in 2020.

Equinix was itself investigating the potential of fuel cells back in 2022, when it teamed up with the National University of Singapore on a project.

Earlier this year, Honda and Mitsubishi started a project to test the feasibility of powering a datacenter with fuel cells repurposed from electric vehicles.

Fuel cells provide power by converting the chemical energy of a fuel and an oxidizing agent into electricity. This is typically hydrogen and oxygen.

However, the catch is where the hydrogen comes from. ESB has said it wants the majority of Ireland’s energy to be generated by renewable sources in future, and if some of that were used to produce so-called “green” hydrogen, then it could be regarded as carbon-free. Much industrially produced hydrogen is currently extracted from methane, an energy-intensive process often powered by fossil fuels. ®