Microsoft and ESB to launch green hydrogen pilot project in Ireland

The tech giant will be providing the zero-carbon emission fuel for a data center in the country

Microsoft has announced that through an agreement with ESB, it intends to power its data center in Ireland with green hydrogen.

In this way, its electricity will be generated carbon emission-free

This represents the first time that green hydrogen fuel cells will be used to generate the electricity needed for powering a data center in Europe.  ESB’s fuel cells will be used to power the Microsoft data center power control and administration building in Dublin.

The pilot project involves the supply of as much as 250 kW of clean energy to the Doublin campus of Microsoft across a period of eight weeks.

The zero-emission fuel cells from ESB will be used to convert stored renewable H2 into the electricity needed to power the data center without producing carbon emissions. The only byproduct of this process is water.

The green hydrogen fuel cells were designed as a replacement for diesel generators

Aside from carbon, the fuel cells also do not emit particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and other harmful air pollutants associated with the use of fossil fuels for generating electricity.

The project pilot is one part of a series ESB planned for this year and 2025 in order to place the spotlight on fuel cell tech’s versatility in a spectrum of different applications.  This specific pilot represents the first step along a path to demonstrating the potential impact of H2 in supporting decarbonization.  It will do so by focusing on the data center sector with strategic importance in Ireland.

Renewable H2 has an opportunity to offer clean power

“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, the vice president, EMEA regional leader of Microsoft Cloud Operations + Innovation when discussing the pilot’s launch. “If scaled successfully, it could provide new ways of advancing sustainability in our sector and beyond.”

“This pilot project is another important step in our journey to transition to carbon-free electricity supply for our data centres, buildings, and campuses around the world,” said Microsoft EMEA Data Centre Operations general manager Lavinia Morris. “As we look to advance a more sustainable future, we hope to build on the success of this pilot project and continue to find innovative ways to decarbonise our operations.”

“ESB believe green hydrogen will play an important role in the net zero energy system of the future,” added ESB executive director of generation and trading Jim Dollard. “We’re delighted to be working with Microsoft on this innovative pilot project that will showcase the potential for green hydrogen as part of zero emission electricity generation for data centres.”

Green hydrogen’s next step in an ongoing project

The green hydrogen fuel cell pilot project between Microsoft and ESB is set as an important step along the “Principles for Sustainable Data Centre Development” established by the UK government two years ago.  Cleanly powering data centers and the further development of that market while efficiently using the electrical grid and using power produced through renewable resources.

The announcement for producing green hydrogen also reflects the targets set by Microsoft in establishing a cleaner power source for its own data centers to ensure sustainability of the current and future AI and cloud infrastructures.

Back in 2020, Microsoft set aggressive goals that involved its entire global infrastructure and operations. This goal was announced as achieving carbon negative, water positive, zero waste status that would provide ecosystem protection by 2030.