Microsoft liquid energy storage power station

Why is Microsoft using a battery energy storage system?

Microsoft is using a battery energy storage system (BESS) from Saft at a Swedish data center, after its use of diesel backup generators in the country previously faced criticism.

Can Microsoft Power a data center with hydrogen?

Microsoft has demonstrated a 3MW power generation system powered by hydrogen - the latest step in its project to move towards zero-carbon backup power for data centers. The system was built by Plug Power, and uses hydrogen fuel cells in two 40ft shipping containers in a parking lot at Plug's headquarters in Latham, New York.

Can a fuel cell power a data center?

In 2020, it powered a row of data center servers for 48 hours using a smaller 250kW fuel cell system. This more recent project, which was conceived in 2021, takes the technology a step further, and has been supported and partially funded by the US Department of Energy Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (DOE) through its H2@Scale initiative.

Could a hydrogen fuel cell replace diesel generators in Microsoft data centers?

That 3-megawatt hydrogen fuel cell, developed for Microsoft by Plug Power, and on course to replace diesel generators in Microsoft data centers, was at the time heralded by DCF as the latest in a series of Microsoft “moonshot” R&D projects designed to rethink the future of sustainable data centers.

Can hydrogen fuel cells be used to power a data center?

Caterpillar and Microsoft say they have successfully demonstrated the viability of using hydrogen fuel cells to supply reliable and sustainable backup power to a data center for 48 hours.

Can a hydrogen fuel cell power Microsoft's Cheyenne facility?

Working with Ballard Power Systems, the companies used a large-format hydrogen fuel cell system to power Microsoft’s facility in Cheyenne, Wyoming, during a simulated two-day backup event.