Digital infrastructure provider Moji says it has become the first French data center operator to install backup generators powered by natural gas.

The company, which offers dark fiber access and cloud services to its clients, has worked with generator vendor Pramac and gas provider GRDF to install a 300kVA Pramac generator at its data center in Nanterre, a suburb in the west of Paris.

Many data center operators are looking to move away from traditional diesel backup generators to more sustainable options such as machines that run on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO). Gas is not as clean as HVO, but Moji says the move will help it reduce its carbon footprint.

In comments reported by DC Mag, Ferdinand Chevrant-Breton, founder of Moji, said: “Thanks to this technology, we [will] save around 1200 liters of fuel per year.”

He added that the company will “reduce CO2 emissions by 20 percent and NOx emissions by 90 percent compared to fuel oil solutions.”

The generator uses gas supplied by GRDF’s network, and does not require a tank. Its design means it can be up and running in 10 seconds should it be required. Pramac is an Italian company that makes a wide range of generators and other industrial equipment.

"The equipment chosen today by Moji is a great illustration of the ability of gas to decarbonize uses,” said Florence Mourey, deputy director of territorial customers for GRDF in the Ile-de-France region. “Thanks to this pragmatic solution, this data center is fully in line with decarbonization.”