Energy-hungry data centres developers are turning more to on-site fuel cells with investment set to rise tenfold to $30bn by 2030, according to research from Rystad Energy.
A contracted order book of around 9 gigawatts (GW), including framework agreements with Oracle, AEP, Equinix and Brookfield, points to growing confidence among major operators in fuel cells as a viable long-term power source.
Unlike conventional grid connections or large gas plants, fuel cells can be deployed quickly and run on natural gas today, transitioning to biogas, biomethane or hydrogen as supply matures, while producing lower on-site emissions than combustion alternatives.
North America is expected to account for 91% of installed global on-site power generation capacity as a result of grid delays, federal tax incentives and an established domestic supply chain, according to the research firm.
Lein Mann Bergsmark, Vice-President, Clean Tech Supply Chain Research, said power availability has become one of the defining constraints on data centre growth and operators are increasingly looking beyond the grid for solutions.
“Fuel cells have moved from a niche application to a measurable part of the firm power mix,” she said. “The question now is whether the supply chain can scale at the same pace as demand.”
©Rystad Energy
Fuel cell manufacturers are expanding capacity in response. Aggregate operational and planned manufacturing output is on track to reach 4 GW per year by 2030, up from 1.8 GW today.
Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) have become the dominant technology for always-on data centre power, accounting for around 53% of cumulative stationary deliveries to date.
Bloom Energy holds virtually every primary-load SOFC contract in the visible order book, a concentration that presents supply chain risk if demand accelerates faster than one manufacturer’s production capacity, Rystad found.
Rystad Energy projects SOFC system costs will fall 20 to 25% by 2030, though the pace will depend on manufacturers’ ability to reduce costs across the full delivered system, not the fuel cell stack alone.
The has been launched at London Climate Action Week, outlining a shared vision for how data centres should be developed in urban areas.
To read H2 View’s fuel cells-themed May issue, click
