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    Hydrogen fuel-cell pilot demonstrating Backup Power potential at Microsoft Data Center

    Nov. 22, 2021
    Caterpillar will try to demonstrate a 1.5-MW backup power delivery and control system, while Microsoft will contribute expertise in data center design and Ballard on the fuel cell design
    Ballard Power Systems
    Ballard Power Systems Fcev Fuel Cell Technology 619bf7cf3831a

    Engine and generator maker Caterpillar will work with Microsoft and Ballard Power Systems to demonstrate hydrogen fuel cell backup power for data centers.

    The three-year project will focus on large-format H2 fuel cells. Support and some funding will come from the U.S. Department of Energy under the H2@Scale initiative and the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL).

    Caterpillar will try to demonstrate a 1.5-MW backup power delivery and control system. Microsoft will contribute expertise in data center design and Ballard on the fuel cell design side.

    As the prime contractor on the project, Caterpillar is providing the overall system integration, power electronics, and controls that form the central structure of the power solution, which will be fueled by low-carbon-intensity hydrogen. Microsoft is hosting the demonstration project at a company data center in Quincy, Washington. NREL is performing analyses on safety, techno-economics, and greenhouse gas impacts.

    "At Caterpillar, we focus on supporting our customers with reliable, resilient and economical power solutions while achieving their climate-related goals," said Jason Kaiser, Vice President of Caterpillar Electric Power. "This hydrogen fuel cell demonstration project enables us to collaborate with industry leaders to take a large step toward commercially viable power solutions that also support our customers in making their operations more sustainable."

    Ballard CEO Randy MacEwen said the project will provide key insights in the capability of fuel cell systems to serve multi-MW data centers.

    "This hydrogen fuel cell demonstration project enables us to collaborate with industry leaders to take a large step toward commercially viable power solutions that also support our customers in making their operations more sustainable,” MacEwen added.

    Hydrogen offers a potential carbon-free or low-carbon resource for power generation. Its future contains significant challenges in how to scale up and fuel resource and storage, among others.

    About the Author

    EnergyTech Staff

    Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

    Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    He can be reached at [email protected]. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.