ECL is redefining data center design by leveraging hydrogen (H₂) as a primary power source, moving away from reliance on traditional grid electricity often derived from fossil fuels. This innovative approach focuses on sustainability, efficiency and flexibility, aiming to reduce carbon footprints and dependency on energy grids.

ECL has successfully launched a 1-MW H₂-powered data center in Mountain View, showcasing its modular, off-grid designs that enable faster deployment and scalability. H₂Tech (H₂T) sat down with Yuval Bachar (YB), founder and CEO of ECL to discuss the company’s work to expand its capacity and pave the way for more environmentally friendly and cost-effective solutions in the data center industry.

H₂T: Why transport hydrogen molecules as opposed to electrons?

YB: If you look at today's energy distribution and the grid in the U.S., and most of the world, we are generating energy at the factories where there are power stations. They can be solar or wind plants, and the energy is converted into electrons, placing them on the transmission lines; the transmission lines are then delivered to the consumption point.

We took a different approach. We are moving the H₂ through a pipeline from the production side and consuming it at the end point. We consume the H₂ in its pure gas state, and have a local power generation system, which is comparable to large systems of power generation, like nuclear or solar plants. Since we do it locally, we do not have to deal with electricity transmission because the electricity has been produced on the spot, enabling the scale up of H₂.

I think the biggest example for us for challenges and transmission that we can see today is in Virginia. Dominion is having a major problem delivering the energy which is needed for the data centers. While they have generation and power plants, they cannot deliver it. In our case, we change the mode. We do not deliver the energy; we deliver the H₂ gas.

H₂T: Tell us about your 1-GW data center in Houston, Texas.

YB: That data center is east of Houston and connected to a H₂ pipeline. H₂ is produced on the Houston and New Orleans (Louisiana) side of the pipeline, and we receive H₂ directly from it. The goal is to build at least one campus, which will be a 1-GW campus that will have multiple customers in sizes of 25, 50, 100, and in some cases even larger than that. The customers will take sections of the data center.

The data center is highly targeted for AI applications, and as a result, we deliver a very high-end data center with very high performance, while being cost effective. One thing that was very important for our customers was if we can generate energy from H₂ and be competitive to the price of the grid? The answer to that is yes, and in most cases, we can beat the grid and deliver energy at a lower cost without the need to connect to the grid.

H₂T: How does your H₂-based solution compare to other sustainable data center power options?

YB: We offer the only onsite solution with zero emissions and zero water, there are no alternatives. Most of the alternative green power-based data centers that we've seen in the industry were basically a huge solar plant with a huge array of batteries to try and create a reliable power source, which is very expensive and complex.

Other solutions include trying to power the data center off the grid. Basically, they used natural gas-based generation onsite, which is unsustainable, emitting NO_x and CO₂. We are delivering a pioneering solution, which is the first in the market.

The challenge we have is how do we actually ensure that the H₂ we get is being produced in a clean and sustainable way. We are working with our suppliers to get more green and blue H₂, and plan to eliminate the use of gray H₂. H₂T

For the full interview, visit: https://h2-tech.com/podcasts/2024/11/revolutionizing-data-centers-how-ecl-s-h-sub-2-sub-powered-vision-is-changing-the-game/