Rolls-Royce Power Systems and Ineratec, a prominent manufacturer of Power-to-X plants and climate-neutral e-Fuels, have formed a strategic partnership to decarbonise backup power for data centres. Their goal is to replace fossil diesel oil in emergency power systems with synthetic fuels produced from renewable hydrogen and CO2. They expect the collaboration to open up a largely overlooked use case for e-Fuels in the digital age – powering critical infrastructure in an increasingly AI-driven world.
Data centres are among the fastest-growing energy consumers, primarily owing to the increasing deployment of artificial intelligence. At the same time, these data centres – some of which form part of critical infrastructure – must be protected against power outages, which is where partnerships such as that between R–R Power Systems and Ineratec come in. They intend to use Ineratec’s synthetic e-diesel, which is produced using green hydrogen and CO2, as an alternative to fossil diesel. Initially, the focus will be on German data centres.
Rolls-Royce plans to support the use of Ineratic’s sustainable fuels in its emergency power systems for data centres. “mtu backup generators from Rolls-Royce are already approved for operation with sustainable fuels. Customers in the critical infrastructure sector … will soon also be able to use e-fuels” commented Tobias Ostermaier, president, Stationary Power Solutions at R–R Power Systems.
The collaboration will begin with a focused market launch in Germany. Short delivery routes from Ineratec’s Era One production facility in Frankfurt will enable rapid rollout. Ineratic’s e-Fuels are produced using renewable electricity and captured CO2 and comply with internationally recognised environmental standards such as ISCC. In the long term, the two partners aim to implement their cooperation internationally.
