INNIO ready for hydrogen

Above: Visualisation of NorthC datacentre, Eindhoven, Netherlands

INNIO has announced that its Jenbacher Ready for H2 engine technology has been selected by NorthC Datacenters (NorthC) for an emergency backup power system for its newest data centre, to be constructed in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

Six Jenbacher hydrogen engines will provide carbon-free emergency back-up power in the case of electricity grid outages.

The Jenbacher Type 4 hydrogen engines will generate a total power output of 6 MW and will be delivered as a containerised package.

The Eindhoven data centre, including the hydrogen emergency backup power system and the on-site hydrogen storage, is a greenfield project, expected to be operational in the second half of 2023.

Dr Olaf Berlien, president and CEO of INNIO, describes it as “the first 100% green hydrogen emergency backup power solution with engines for data centres globally.”

“We selected INNIO’s Jenbacher technology to support our green hydrogen powered electricity generation because of their long-term experience and proven track record with special gases, like hydrogen,” said Jarno Bloem, COO of NorthC Datacenters. “With INNIO’s Jenbacher hydrogen emergency back-up power solution coupled with the renewable power sources from the electricity grid, we are able to decarbonise our complete energy supply infrastructure.”

The Eindhoven data centre will be powered with solar and wind energy from the grid. To provide additional flexibility and security to NorthC, the six Jenbacher Type 4 engines are configured as dual-gas engines. In case of an electricity grid outage the engines can be operated with on-site stored hydrogen. For longer duration grid outages, NorthC has the option to switch to natural gas as an energy source during operation of the engines, in case of shortage in the H2 supply infrastructure.

INNIO’s myPlant Performance cloud-based digital platform solution will provide NorthC secure, real-time monitoring of the emergency back-up system.

The project supports the Netherlands government strategy of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, while NorthC has a strategy to be fully carbon neutral by 2030. This will be accomplished by adopting four “sustainability pillars”, the company says: 100% green energy; modular construction; making efficient use of residual heat; and employing green hydrogen.

Jenbacher engines for hyperscale data centre in Ireland

Another recent datacentre project announced by INNIO is provision of Jenbacher Type 6 engines to a Winthrop Technologies datacentre in Dublin, Ireland.

INNIO will deliver 22 containerised Jenbacher engines, with 60 MW of continuous rated power output, compliant with EU emission regulations.

The engines will operate on pipeline gas but can be converted to operate on hydrogen when it is more readily available, says INNIO.

The power plant will be used for emergency backup power and grid stabilisation at times of higher demand and to support renewable power generation.

The greenfield project is expected to be completed in Q3 2023.

“With our Jenbacher Type 6 engines, Winthrop can take advantage of hydrogen power the moment it becomes available as they are built to be upgraded quickly and seamlessly”, said Dr Berlien.

“The Winthrop gas gen team selected INNIO’s Jenbacher team to build this power plant because of the engines having diesel like performance in combination with high efficiency and ability to run continuously”, said Noel Molloy, operation director at Winthrop Technologies. “Having received a platinum medal status in response to solid progress and execution of their ESG strategy, including hydrogen readiness, INNIO’s Jenbacher technology was an obvious choice for us.”

Ireland has benefited from significant amounts of foreign tech investment over the past decade, transforming the country into one of Europe’s largest hyperscale datacentre hubs. But, today, Dublin’s standing as Europe’s second largest datacentre hub creates a challenge for the country’s energy infrastructure as server farms are increasingly integrated into the national grid, says INNIO. Its Jenbacher island mode solution, however, will allow the Winthrop power plant to operate independently from the national grid during peak times and support the grid during peaking power, INNIO notes.

Winthrop Technologies is a dedicated datacentre delivery partner providing turnkey solutions, headquartered in Dublin and operating throughout Europe. The company is currently constructing a number of turnkey datacentre projects in nine different European countries, equating to over 311 MW of IT load in flight.