Caterpillar demonstrates viability of using hydrogen fuel cell technology for backup power at Microsoft data center

In Texas, Caterpillar announced the success of its collaboration with Microsoft and Ballard Power Systems to demonstrate the viability of using large-format hydrogen fuel cells to supply reliable and sustainable backup power for data centers. The company noted that the demonstration provided valuable insights into the capabilities of fuel cell systems to power multi-megawatt data centers, ensuring uninterrupted power supply to meet 99.999% uptime requirements. The demonstration was conducted in a challenging environment and validated the hydrogen fuel cell power system’s performance at 6,086 ft (1,855 m) above sea level and in below-freezing conditions. The project simulated a 48-hour backup power event at Microsoft’s data center in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where a hydrogen fuel cell was integrated into a data center electrical plant to support its critical load. A Caterpillar Microgrid Controller was used to operate two Cat® Power Grid Stabilization (PGS) 1260 battery energy storage systems along with the 1.5 MW hydrogen fuel cell.

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