In Ireland, Microsoft announced that it has entered into an agreement with ESB that will see its data center power control and administration building in Dublin be powered by green hydrogen power. Microsoft said that the pilot project is the first time that Hydrogen Fuel Cells will be used to provide electricity to a Microsoft data center in Europe, supplying up to 250kW of clean energy to Microsoft’s Dublin campus over an eight-week period. ESB’s zero-emission Hydrogen Fuel Cells convert stored green hydrogen to electricity, with the only by-product being pure water. Designed to replace diesel generators, Hydrogen Fuel Cells produce no carbon emissions or harmful local air pollutants such as particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides, which can have significant health and environmental impacts, the company added. Eoin Doherty, Vice President, EMEA Regional Leader, Microsoft Cloud Operations + Innovation, said: “The green hydrogen project we’re launching with ESB is a pioneering first for Microsoft in Europe, demonstrating how zero-emissions hydrogen can be harnessed to power our digital lives. If scaled successfully, it could provide new ways of advancing sustainability in our sector and beyond.”
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