Atos and HDF Energy will develop a complete end-to-end long-term solution to supply datacenters with green hydrogen generated by renewable energy.
Atos and HDF will be the first available on the market for datacenters with heavy power consuming workloads, with the aim to demonstrate a first full production center operated using green hydrogen in 2023.
Atos will provide a complete end-to-end green datacenter solution by designing and providing the hardware, software and integration services that make it possible to exploit the electricity produced by green hydrogen so that it can be used in datacenters. This includes using the most advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to optimize energy consumption.
HDF Energy will supply a power plant, which will provide predictable and firm electricity thanks to its high-powered fuel cells. These cells will be powered by green hydrogen derived from photovoltaic or wind farms.
Datacenters have high energy needs, operate 24/7, 365 days a year, and cannot experience the slightest energy flaw. Therefore, the approach taken by Atos and HDF is particularly ambitious, as by its very nature, solar or wind energy is clean but intermittent, variable in its production and unpredictable, making it an unstable energy.
At a time when datacenter energy consumption is becoming a key issue and it is essential to consider new energy models, this new solution from Atos and HDF will enable datacenter operators and cloud operators to anticipate potential future constraints set by regulation authorities and offer a sustainable but reliable solution to their customers, with no compromise on their business.
Atos’ solution includes a software layer to predict the datacenter’s power consumption needs and adapt the resource (green hydrogen) accordingly. This complex process is not only based on the datacenter’s activity and size but also takes into account external data from the environment, such as weather forecasting.
“We are constantly seeking to develop solutions to leverage our own sustainable journey towards decarbonization and to support our clients in theirs. In this perspective, the solution to be developed by Atos and HDF will be the first solution available on the market that will enable a full production datacenter with very demanding workloads to be operated using green hydrogen. This meets the expectations not only of operators, but also of the market and public authorities.”
Arnaud Bertrand, SVP, head of strategy and innovation for big data & security at Atos.
“We are very excited to develop the first-of-its-kind green datacenter with Atos. HDF is a pioneer in hydrogen-energy and it is very important for us to demonstrate that our Hydrogen-to-Power solutions are suitable for customers with a strategic need for a reliable electricity supply. This further development into the digital industry, where energy consumption is increasing every day, opens up a considerable worldwide market for us. The HDF-Atos partnership offers the first unique and sustainable infrastructure for this huge market.”
Damien Havard, CEO at HDF.