Japanese companies team up to demonstrate hydrogen-powered datacenter

Honda, Mitsubishi and Tokuyama are working together on a project to demonstrate the operation of a datacenter powered by hydrogen as a by-product of a saltwater electrolysis plant, using fuel cells from electric vehicles.

The demonstration project, conducted in the Japanese city of Shunan, Yamaguchi Prefecture, will supply electricity to a distributed datacenter operated by Mitsubishi from a stationary power station that Honda will develop based on the reuse of fuel cells from electric vehicles. It will use hydrogen that will result as a by-product of a Tokuyama plant that makes industrial electrolysis of salt water.

The aim of the project is to reduce the economic burden on customers who want to install and operate stationary fuel cell systems in datacenters and thus contribute to the decarbonization of electricity sources.

By using hydrogen as a by-product and fuel cells to power distributed datacenters, the project will analyze the feasibility of datacenter installations and expansions in the region using clean energy, as well as exploring business opportunities inside and outside Japan.

In March 2023, Honda had already started operating a stationary fuel cell station at its corporate campus in Torrance, California (USA). The initiative is based on Honda’s experience with hydrogen fuel cells.

The station acts as a clean and silent power source for the campus datacenter. It is expected that, in the coming years, Honda will begin to apply a new generation of the stationary fuel cell system in Honda’s manufacturing facilities and datacenters in other parts of the world.

Meanwhile, in Ireland…

In November 2023, South Korea’s SK ecoplant, which offers an environmental platform for the reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery of resources and for the circular economy, signed a memorandum of understanding with Ireland’s Lumcloon Energy, which specializes in power generation and renewable energy projects in Ireland.

On the basis of this agreement, SK ecoplant will supply fuel cells for a new datacenter located about 80 km west of Dublin, in Castlelost. In addition, the partnership will extend to renewable energy initiatives involving solar, hydrogen and energy storage systems.

“Europe’s first fuel cell-powered datacenter in Ireland is strategically very important as it brings innovation to the energy supply system for these energy-intensive facilities and helps reduce carbon emissions,” says Simon Coveney, Ireland’s Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, adding that the datacenter could serve as a model for many other datacenters in the future.

Ireland is considered a datacenter hub in Europe due to its attractive electricity tariffs and temperate climate. According to SK ecoplant, the Dublin area alone is home to more than 60 datacenters, including those of tech giants such as Google, Amazon and Meta.

Numbers published by the Central Statistics Office showed that the energy consumption of datacenters in Ireland increased by 31% in just one year and accounted for 18% of all electricity used in 2022. However, the Irish government does not intend to limit the number of datacenter deployments in the country.

“Datacenters are a really important and beneficial sector for our country. We have a huge advantage in having them here because of the industries based here and the others that will come as a result. I think, in a nutshell, every datacenter should look at flexible systems to offer low-carbon energy or use some of the waste heat,” says Eamon Ryan, Ireland’s Climate Minister.