Microsoft is trialing zero emissions green hydrogen at its data center in Ireland.

The company has announced a pilot program with hydrogen supplier ESB that will see hydrogen fuel cells deployed to provide power to the data center power control and administration building at Microsoft’s Dublin campus.

The fuel cells will supply up to 250kW of power over an eight-week period.

The pilot is part of a series planned by ESB in 2024 and 2025 to showcase the versatility of hydrogen fuel cell technology in different power applications. Microsoft said it is the first step in demonstrating the potential impact that hydrogen energy can have in helping to decarbonize the strategically important data center sector in Ireland.

Eoin Doherty, vice president, EMEA regional leader for Microsoft Cloud Operations + Innovation, said: “The green hydrogen project we’re launching with ESB is a pioneering first for Microsoft in Europe, demonstrating how zero-emissions hydrogen can be harnessed to power our digital lives. If scaled successfully, it could provide new ways of advancing sustainability in our sector and beyond.”

Hydrogen is seen as a potentially useful future source of clean energy for data centers and other applications, but it is also highly flammable, meaning transporting and storing it can be a challenge. Green hydrogen is a version of the gas where zero emissions are created in its production.

Microsoft has been experimenting with hydrogen fuel cells for its data centers for several years, and in January said it had run its campus in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on hydrogen fuel cells for 48 hours as part of an experiment carried out in conjunction with Caterpillar.

Jim Dollard, ESB executive director, generation and trading, added: “ESB believes green hydrogen will play an important role in the net zero energy system of the future. We’re delighted to be working with Microsoft on this innovative pilot project that will showcase the potential for green hydrogen as part of zero-emission electricity generation for data centers.”

Last year, Microsoft was granted permission to build a 170MW gas power plant at its Dublin campus. The company said this would be used to provide backup power only.