NREL | 1

Renewable Hydrogen for a 

Carbon-Free Data Center

March 20, 2019

Hydrogen and Fuel Cell R&D for Datacenter Applications

J. Kurtz,1 Z. Ma,1 S. Hammond,1 T. Cader,2 and K. Wipke1 

Genevieve Saur 1(presenter)

1.National Renewable Energy Laboratory

2.Hewlett Packard Enterprise
2

Data Center Energy Challenge –

High costs in power infrastructure, inefficiencies, and backup power required

* http://www.nrdc.org/energy/data-center-efficiency-assessment.asp

0

50

100

150

2011 2013 2020

Annual kilowatt-hours (billions)

US Data Center Electric Usage (GW)

91

140

76

Data center electricity use would 

be 3.5% of total U.S. electricity use 

in 2020 according to projections.

Annual Energy Outlook 2019

Table: Electricity Supply, Disposition, Prices, 

and Emissions

Case: Reference case

Estimated energy increase* of more than 

50% in 7 years to ~140 billion kWh, 

equivalent to annual output of 50 power 

plants, with nearly 100 million metric tons of 

carbon emissions per year
3

Carbon-Free Data Center Scale Comparison – Megawatts Shipped

Just one large data center 

is ~25% of worldwide 

stationary shipments 

(MW) in 2016 

https://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2017/10/f37/fcto_2016_market_report.pdf
4

DC/DC or

AC/DC

Renewable 

Energy

Information Technology

Adsorption Chiller

Hydrogen Electrolyzer Hydrogen Storage

Carbon-Free Data Center Vision

Photo credits (L to R): Proton Onsite; NREL; Power Innovations; NREL; HPE

Fuel Cell

Water

Schematic illustrative of possible system

DC/DC or

AC/DC
5

One concept : FC integrated racks

Integrated Fuel Cell 

Data Center 

Comparison to Baseline, Air Cooled 

Data Center (traditional)

Hydrogen distribution

inside data center

+ Lower cost than electrical distribution 

inside data center

+ Simplified mechanical system

+ Estimated lower operation and 

maintenance costs 

+ CHP – waste heat capture and re-use

- High capital costs

Fewer IT racks for data 

center load

+ Liquid cooled ~1.8x higher rack density 

than air cooled

+ Decreased data center footprint and 

decreased building shell cost

Resiliency + Individual racks can continue operation 

while maintaining other racks

+ External diesel generator backup and 

uninterruptible power supplies are not 

needed

Standard Data 

Center

Fuel Cell Data 

Center

Critical IT load (MW) 50 50

Rack power (kW) 12 60

# of IT racks 4,167 833

IT cooling methodology Air Liquid

Fuel Cell Racks (130 kW per rack) 0 424

% IT rack load to air 100 30

% IT rack load to water 0 70

Central UPS? Yes No

Diesel generators? Yes No

Chiller types Absorption Adsorption

Chiller capacity (tons of refrigeration) 1,200 200

Cooling towers? Yes Yes

 Reduce long-term data center 

overall Total Cost of Ownership

 Increase reliability and resiliency

 Take advantage of inexpensive 

renewables in the future
6

System Modeling for Hydrogen Infrastructure

Scenarios Sizing Economics

• Two Locations

• Quincy, WA

• San Antonio, TX

• Energy Sources

• 100% renewable (PV and 

wind)

• Natural gas to hydrogen

• Grid independent and grid 

dependent

• 50 MW 24/7 load demand

• Renewable generation name plate

• Renewable generation output 

estimate

• Electrolysis name plate

• Hydrogen production estimate

• Hydrogen storage

• Equipment footprint

• Renewable generation and 

hydrogen infrastructure

• Data center total cost of 

ownership

• Capital costs

• Operation and maintenance costs

• Cost estimates include current 

and projected
7

Summary of Options Considered
8

Renewable Hydrogen Production Modeling

• H2 to Power to supply 50 MW 

data center IT load. 

• ~33% renewable generation 

capacity factor (location 

specific)

• Electrolyzer follows variable 

renewable generation

• Nameplate size to ensure 

sufficient storage during low or 

no renewable generation

• Example – 100% renewable, 

WA location has 635 MW 

generation (525 MW is wind) 

and 250 MW of electrolysis

• Smaller systems for other 

intermediate scenarios
9

Comparison of hydrogen production (electrolyzer) and consumption (fuel cell)

Scenario 1 Quincy WA

• Hydrogen production lower 

than consumption in 

February through April

• Lower generation times 

drives the renewable 

generation size
10

Renewable Hydrogen Storage Modeling (Quincy, WA site)

• Hydrogen storage for 

minimum 3 day reserve 

(216,000 kg)

• 50 MW, 24/7 demand = 

72,000 kg H2/day (~50% 

efficient fuel cell)

• Some months hydrogen 

production is less than 

demand (e.g., February to 

April in WA)

• System footprint and 

hydrogen storage is largest 

for 100% renewable 

scenarios (e.g., ~650 acres in 

WA)
11

System Economic Estimates (excludes data center costs)

• High estimates based on current 

costs and low estimates based 

on projected costs

• Lower capital cost does not 

necessarily result in lower total 

cost of ownership

Long-Term

Vision

Near-Term

Options

Installed 

Component

Current Cost 

(2016)

Projected 

Cost (2030)

Wind 

($/kW) 1,397 1,200

Solar 

($/kW) 1,500 1,000

Fuel cell 

($/kW)

300 ( eff. 

50%)

50 ( eff. 

50%)

Electrolyzer

($/kW)

1200 ( eff. 

65%, 25 yrs)

800 ( eff. 

75%, 25 yrs)

Storage 

($/kg) 500 (10 yrs) 7 (20 yrs) 

Cavern

~$2/W NPC

~$8.6/W NPC
12

• Savings from grid independent operation

o On-site generation with behind the meter electricity price

o Avoid demand charges

o FC electric power directly used by computer for low Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE)

o Stable load and controlled environment favor higher fuel cell efficiency and longer 

servicer life.

• Energy savings:

o Overall efficiency with heat recovery to drive chiller for building heating and 

equipment cooling needs

o Data center of low cost and small foot print by FC racks

o No H2 distribution cost needed as H2 is consumed locally 

• Increase fuel cell production and accelerate its deployment.

Benefits of Fuel Cell-Powered Data Center
13

Summary

With the sustained drop of the cost for renewable power, long-term renewable hydrogen to supply fuel cells for 

powering a data center can realize both decarbonization and economic returns.

Challenges

• High capital cost of several components

• Large scale storage options for hydrogen in carbon-free, renewable scenarios

• Conceptual change for data center design

Opportunities

• Hydrogen distribution less costly than electrical distribution

• Data center size, cost, and thermal load could be reduced

• CHP opportunities

• Synergies with large renewable deployments

• In near term natural gas options could be economic

• Increased resiliency and reliability
www.nrel.gov

Thank You

NREL/PR-5400-73596

This work was authored in part by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, operated by Alliance for Sustainable 

Energy, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308. Funding provided 

by U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fuel Cell Technologies Office. The 

views expressed in the article do not necessarily represent the views of the DOE or the U.S. Government. The U.S. 

Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the U.S. 

Government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published 

form of this work, or allow others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes.
Backup
16

Carbon free computing – Utilize hydrogen as energy storage to integrate renewable solar and wind 

resources for a data center

• Model Scope: The hydrogen generation , storage, and consumption equipment will be defined in a conceptual block diagram. 

These components and subsystems will be included in a conceptual model to:

o create equipment sizing (quantity and footprint)

o annual renewable generation profile (based on Quincy, WA and San Antonio, TX locations)

o annual renewable hydrogen generation profile

o annual hydrogen demand profile

o equipment cost estimates (based on current technology status, which are undersized for this full scale rollout)

• Model Setup

o Two locations: San Antonio, TX and Quincy ,WA

o Two cost inputs: current and projected values.

o Four scenarios were considered:

1. Grid-independent, renewable generation to hydrogen production to fuel cell power for data center (long-term vision)

2. Grid-independent, renewable generation to hydrogen production to fuel cell power and renewable generation for data center

3. Grid-dependent, renewable and fuel cell supply (basis for near-term vision)

4. Natural gas reforming to hydrogen storage to fuel cell power for data center

o No thermal load was considered yet.

• Model Results

o Verified required capacity, load, and hydrogen storage.

o Generated electricity and hydrogen generation profile.

o Sized equipment.

o Estimated electric and capital cost.

Modeling Objectives and Considerations
17

Component Cost Estimates

Installed Components Current Cost (2016) Projected Cost (2030?) Reference Source

Wind ($/kW) 1,397 1,200 NREL report TP53045

Solar ($/kW) 1,500 1,000 GTM Research and DOE SunShot

Fuel cell ($/kW) 300 ( eff. 50%) 50 ( eff. 50%) Industry and DOE Goal

Electrolyzer ($/kW) 1200 ( eff. 65%, 25 yrs

continuous) 800 ( eff. 75%, 25 yrs) NREL report TP53045 and internal

discussion

Storage ($/kg) 500 (10 yrs) 7 (20 yrs) Cavern Refer to DOE MYRDD and 

TP53045 

Note: No land cost were considered in COE numbers next.
18

Annual Renewable Generation, Fuel Cell, Electrolyzer and Excess Power Estimate

Scenario 1 Quincy WA

Renewable Generation

Fuel Cell Power

Electrolyzer Input

Excess Power

• Generation 

does peak at 

nameplate 

capacity

• FC Power 

constant for 

Data Center 

demand

• Electrolyzer size 

limited to 480 

MW, which 

results in small 

amounts of 

excess 

renewable 

generation (< 

#%)

Electrolyzer Size

System Nameplate Size
19

Jan-Mar Renewable Generation, Fuel Cell, Electrolyzer and Excess Power Estimate

Scenario 1 Quincy WA

Renewable Generation

Fuel Cell Power

Electrolyzer Input

Excess Power

• Zoomed in to show 

highly variable 

operation

• Electrolyzer operation 

follows renewable 

generation profile

• Gaps in electrolyzer 

power indicate low 

renewable resources 

and depleting 

hydrogen storage

• Storage sizing 

dependent on 

renewable generation 

profile
20

Scenario Results Summary – PV & Wind
21

Scenario Results Summary – FC & H2
22

Scenario Results Summary – System
23

Scenario Results Summary – Costs

Scenarios 1. Wind/PV -> H2 -> IT 2. Wind/PV -> H2 -> IT & Wind/PV -> 

IT 3. Add grid to 2

TX Site WA Site TX Site2 WA Site3 TX Site4 WA Site5

Estimated Capital Cost (Billion $) 

Current Costs 1.365 1.365 0.688 0.511 Not Run 0.611

Estimated Capital Cost (Billion $) 

Projected Costs (~2030) 0.775 0.964 0.270 0.330 0.547

Total Footprint (acres) 360 467 126 147 Not Run 133

Conclusions Need to add Need to add Need to add Need to add Need to add Need to add