Hydrogen in data centers: an introduction

Hydrogen promises to replace fossil fuels in large parts of the economy, helping to realize net-zero emissions goals. These plans are based around the electrolysis of water using renewable electricity, which produces what is normally referred to as green hydrogen. In theory, low-carbon hydrogen could be a suitable alternative for data center operational or backup power. However, the hydrogen economy is still a long way from fruition, and only a small number of data centers will be able to exploit it when it arrives.

KEY POINTS

• Several countries are developing hydrogen as a useful way to store and transport renewable energy as part of their efforts to decarbonize industry.
• Low-carbon hydrogen, consumed either in fuel cells or turbines, can provide operational or backup power for data centers.
• In future, operators could consider hydrogen if other power sources, such as grid electricity or diesel generators, are not practical.
• At present, the supply of green hydrogen is too limited for all but some niche operators, while hydrogen fuel cells and turbines also have some engineering issues.