New Energies, new possibilities

Caterpillar, in collaboration with Microsoft and Ballard Power Systems, has been recognized for its work in datacenter hydrogen fuel cell technology, winning the ‘Systems Development and Integration’ award at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DoE) 2024 Hydrogen Program Merit Review Awards.

The Ballard Power Systems-supported project has successfully demonstrated its megawatt-scale fuel cell platform at Microsoft’s Cheyenne, Wyoming, datacenter. The 1.5MW fuel cell and battery microgrid solution successfully demonstrated increased resiliency and lower carbon intensity, providing applicability beyond standby, over a simulated 48-hour outage.

The industry acknowledgement arrives as the datacenter sector faces mounting pressure to address its soaring energy needs with sustainable solutions. Hydrogen fuel cells can help meet reliability and environmental goals, especially as backup power.

Experts from Caterpillar’s Electric Power team led the project, providing system integration, power electronics, and microgrid controls, with support from Ballard – who delivered the 1.5MW fuel cell platform.

Test cycles ranged from basic software communication checks to demonstrating a 48-hour datacenter backup operation cycle, as well as quality performance, and durability and reliability tests over a 150-hour timeframe.

The final six months of the demonstration project involved system installation, plant commissioning and debugging. This was followed by a two-month demonstration during which real-life data was collected. Despite the apparent short run-time, the demonstration is equivalent to up to 15 years of performance for a diesel genset at a datacenter.

"The demonstration project is a significant milestone in providing large datacenters with reliable and sustainable back-up power with hydrogen technology. As critical infrastructure operations shift from on-premises physical servers to multi-cloud environments, it is more important than ever to ensure datacenters are securely supported and connected across multiple platforms to deliver uninterruptible power supply."

 

Neal Fink Program Manager, Ballard

The project underscores the rising demand for sustainable solutions for data centers. The partnership's demonstration provides valuable insights into fuel cell system capacity and capability to support multi-megawatt datacenters, ensuring uninterrupted power supply to meet 99.99% uptime requirements - leveraging the most innovative digital infrastructure effectively, efficiently, and at scale.

Data Center Partnership Earns Top DOE Award

Tokyo, Japan – Panasonic Corporation (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Masahiro Shinada; hereinafter referred to as "Panasonic") today announced that, in order to further enhance the competitiveness of its businesses contributing to carbon neutrality (decarbonization), it plans to launch a demonstration project in the spring of 2025 at one of the two office buildings of Panasonic Industry Europe GmbH, a company that sells electronic and industrial devices, etc. (Location: Ottobrunn, Germany), where electricity will be generated in-house using pure hydrogen fuel cell generators and photovoltaic generators, powering the office with 100% renewable energy. Construction began in October last year for the introduction of the demonstration facility that will link the three types of energy sources by utilizing existing photovoltaic generators and installing new pure hydrogen fuel cell generators and storage batteries.

Panasonic HX, a hydrogen-based energy solution, uses 5 kW or 10 kW pure hydrogen fuel cell generators that can be interconnected based on power demand and installation location. The combination of photovoltaic generators and storage batteries, along with the highly coordinated control of the three types of energy sources, allows for the adjustment of power supply and demand to respond to changes in power demand and renewable energy output due to weather conditions. This solution provides stable renewable energy while reducing excess power generation and waste.

The decentralized energy package, based on local power generation for local consumption, enhances resilience in the event of a disaster. The system's ability to optimize the number of hydrogen fuel cell generators in operation, based on power demand, extends the life of the hydrogen power generation system, and facilitates maintenance in the operational environment, allowing for uninterrupted service during maintenance.

After previously establishing demonstration facilities to power its fuel cell factory in Kusatsu, Shiga Prefecture, Japan, and its microwave oven assembly factory in Cardiff, Wales, UK, with renewable energy, Panasonic will now conduct its first demonstration of power supply and demand management for an office building using hydrogen-based renewable energy. Additionally, the demonstration project in Germany will use new 10 kW pure hydrogen fuel cell generators, replacing the conventional 5 kW type. Panasonic will develop solutions that are best suited to various use cases and regional characteristics, while building relationships with local partner companies and corporate customers involved in the hydrogen business.

With a mission to contribute to the wellbeing of people, society and the planet, Panasonic adopts a medium- to long-term perspective on its business, aiming to create a society that achieves both wellbeing and sustainability. By demonstrating the hydrogen-based energy solution for an office building in Germany, the company aims to create a new business that contributes to German society and addresses climate change. It will also propose a new option for adopting renewable energy through full-scale hydrogen use, helping achieve a decarbonized society.

About Panasonic Corporation

Panasonic Corporation offers products and services for a variety of living environments, ranging from homes to stores to offices and cities. There are five businesses at the core of Panasonic Corporation: Living Appliances and Solutions Company, Heating & Ventilation A/C Company, Cold Chain Solutions Company, Electric Works Company and China and Northeast Asia Company. The operating company reported consolidated net sales of 3,494.4 billion yen for the year ended March 31, 2024. Panasonic Corporation is committed to fulfilling the mission of Life Tech & Ideas: For the wellbeing of people, society and the planet, and embraces the vision of becoming the best partner of your life with human-centric technology and innovation. Learn more about Panasonic: https://www.panasonic.com/global/about/