US energy and materials firm Modern Hydrogen has signed a strategic partnership with Mesa Solutions, a power solutions firm, to develop an on-site hydrogen power generation solution for the data center market.
The partnership, officially announced at the POWERGEN International Conference in Houston, aims to develop an on-site power generation solution that uses natural gas to power a Mesa Solutions generator that runs on 100 percent hydrogen.
Modern Hydrogen will supply an on-site solution that converts natural gas into hydrogen, which is subsequently fed into the generator set.
The partners claim the solution will provide three major benefits to data center firms. These include the deployment of turnkey modular solutions, the avoidance of transmission delays, and the ability to utilize existing natural gas infrastructure for seamless integration.
Modern Hydrogen utilizes pyrolysis technology to convert natural gas into hydrogen and solid carbon for asphalt. The company's on-site system uses heat to crack the natural gas into hydrogen and is, according to the company, thermally driven and catalyst-free. The company is backed by NextEra Energy and the National Grid.
“Dispatchable, reliable power is the backbone of data center operations, and our partnership with Mesa Solutions ensures that data center can generate clean energy onsite without waiting for the electricity grid,” said Modern Hydrogen CEO Tony Pan.
The partners say the solution will be modular and scalable to the facility’s requirements. The solution's expected deployment timeline was not shared.
“Mesa has spent years optimizing on-site power generation solutions for high-demand applications. By integrating Modern Hydrogen’s innovative hydrogen production, we’re creating a new model for data center that doesn’t compromise on reliability or cost,” said Mesa Solutions, CEO Scott Gromer.
Hydrogen-based solutions are gaining popularity within the data center sector as firms seek low-carbon alternatives to power their operations.
Last year, colo giant Equinix announced it was exploring the deployment of hydrogen fuel cells at its data center in Dublin, Ireland. The company deployed a temporary deployment pod at one of its sites and plans to expand the use of fuel cells in the coming months and years.
In 2023, Honda deployed a hydrogen fuel cell system for data center backup at its facility in California. HCL, also in California, is running a 1MW data center primarily via hydrogen.
However, hydrogen remains a very immature technology and lacks a developed supply chain, leading many to contend that it is years, if not decades, away from cost-effective commercialization.
