Microsoft’s Green Hydrogen Revolution: Transforming Dublin’s Data Centre Energy

Microsoft has recently announced an exciting partnership with ESB to power its data centre in Dublin using zero emissions green hydrogen. This innovative initiative marks the first time that hydrogen fuel cells will be utilised to supply electricity to a Microsoft data centre in Europe, delivering up to 250kW of clean energy to the Dublin campus over a span of eight weeks.

ESB’s cutting-edge zero-emission hydrogen fuel cells seamlessly convert stored green hydrogen into electricity, with the only byproduct being pure water. This pilot project is just the beginning, with ESB planning a series of demonstrations in 2024 and 2025 to highlight the versatility of hydrogen fuel cell technology across various power applications.

Hydrogen is considered a promising and environmentally friendly energy source for future use in data centres and various other applications. However, due to its high flammability, the transportation and storage of hydrogen pose significant challenges. Green hydrogen, on the other hand, refers to a type of hydrogen gas that is produced with zero emissions, making it an environmentally sustainable option for energy generation.

”The green hydrogen project we’re launching with ESB is a pioneering first for Microsoft in Europe, demonstrating how zero-emissions hydrogen can be harnessed to power our digital lives” said Eoin Doherty, Vice President, EMEA Regional Leader, Microfot Cloud Operations Innovation.

”If scaled successfully, it could provide new ways of advancing sustainability in our sector and beyond” Mr Doherty said.

Jim Dollard, ESB Executive Director, Generation and Trading said that green hydrogen will play an important role in the net zero energy system of the future.