Microsoft has launched a pilot project with Irish energy company ESB to test the use of green hydrogen in powering its data centers, marking a significant move toward reducing its carbon footprint. Under the new agreement, Microsoft will use hydrogen fuel cells to power its data center’s power control and administration building in Dublin. The green hydrogen power system will supply up to 250 kW of energy to the campus over an eight-week trial period. This is the first time hydrogen fuel cells will be used to provide electricity to a Microsoft data center in Europe. The pilot is part of Microsoft’s broader effort to decarbonize its growing data center operations, a crucial step as demand for AI computing power has led to a sharp rise in data centers and increased emissions. While Microsoft has set ambitious goals to become carbon negative by 2030 and to reduce its Scope 3 emissions by more than half compared to 2020, the company recently reported that its 2023 Scope 3 emissions were 30% higher than in 2020.
These emissions largely stem from the rapid expansion of data centers. To address its emissions challenges, Microsoft is pushing forward with innovative clean energy solutions, such as this hydrogen project, alongside other renewable energy agreements. Earlier this year, the company launched an initiative to tackle its Scope 3 emissions and signed deals, including a 10.5 GW clean energy capacity project with Brookfield and a nuclear energy purchase from Constellation Energy. Lavinia Morris, General Manager of Microsoft’s EMEA Data Centre Operations, emphasized the importance of this hydrogen project, stating that it is another step in their journey toward a carbon-free electricity supply. Hydrogen, which emits only water vapor when used in fuel cells, is seen as crucial for the transition to clean energy, especially for areas where renewable sources such as wind are not available. and the date. ESB’s Managing Director of Manufacturing and Marketing, Jim Dollard, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership with Microsoft, demonstrating the potential of green hydrogen in a non-volatile energy system. no future. This experiment could demonstrate the potential of green hydrogen as a sustainable energy source for data centers and also position it as a key tool for decarbonizing large-scale operations.