Pictured announcing Equinix’s Trial of a landmark hydrogen power solution at its Dublin data centre, DB3, are (L-R): Peter Lantry, Managing Director of Equinix Ireland; and Andrew Cunningham, CEO, GeoPura
Equinix enter 12 week trial for new hydrogen power unit
Equinix, who run data centres in Citywest and Clondalkin, has entered into a 12-week trial of a new hydrogen power unit at one of its sites in Blanchardstown.
Equinix run data centres located in Citywest Business Campus and Kilcarbery Business Park, brought in two hydrogen-powered generators to support cooling systems within the data centre.
The two generators were provided by GeoPura, one owned by ESB, and the hydrogen has been supplied from renewable sources and are designed to give off zero emissions directly onsite.
Equinix Ireland Managing Director Peter Lantry noted that the collaboration is a “landmark research project.”
Mr Lantry said: “This is a landmark research project that could be part of the solution to Ireland’s grid constraints and the challenge of accessing clean energy.
“Ireland is already making serious moves on hydrogen and how it can be stored at scale here. What we’re doing with ESB is a different piece of the same puzzle: proving that hydrogen can work as a practical, zero direct onsite emissions alternative to diesel and gas in a live environment.
“If this pilot delivers what we expect, it adds real momentum to Ireland’s decarbonisation story.”
Powered by green hydrogen and using advanced PEM fuel cell technology, the system produces clean, silent energy.
They are intended to serve as alternatives to traditional diesel or gas generators, which helps to reduce operational emissions at the point of use.
Hydrogen fuel units such as these are scalable up to 50 MW to support both backup and prime power applications and the hydrogen fuel cell system produces only water and heat as byproducts at the point of use.
The waste heat could potentially be used to support future district heating projects, such as the Tallaght District Heating Scheme and the water can be recycled on-site to help improve efficiency.
Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications Timmy Dooley said: “Hydrogen has the potential to play an important role in Ireland’s transition to a more sustainable energy system.
“Projects such as this provide valuable opportunities to test emerging technologies in real-world environments and deepen our understanding of how they can support future energy needs.”
