ECL is on the cusp of pioneering data centers powered by hydrogen, enabling firms to scale up as per their requirements.

ECL has unveiled its plan for a groundbreaking, grid-independent, modular data center that taps hydrogen as its main energy source. It commits to a zero-carbon footprint and offers a staggering 99.9999% operational time.

These plug-and-play data centers work much like LEGO bricks, giving businesses the leeway to commence with modest infrastructure and then amplify as demands spike. Each module from ECL boasts a capacity of 1 megawatt.

ECL’s solution primarily targets medium-scale data center providers and conglomerates with a blend of cloud and on-site IT setups. The firm suggests that over a five-year span, its centers would cost about 67% of what a typical colocation data center would demand. Remarkably, ECL’s design doesn’t drain local utilities like electricity or water and functions with negligible emissions and minimal noise. Such attributes place it as a prime choice for outlying and edge setups, as per the company’s assertion.

This self-sufficiency means ECL’s centers can transition from design to reality far quicker than their traditional counterparts. The company expects to truncate the usual 18-24 months of planning and building time to a brisk 6-9 months.

ECL’s inbuilt cooling mechanism outdoes the conventional ones as it employs water cooling, enhancing the rack density. The water, a byproduct of the hydrogen-fueled energy process, cools the server compartments, bypassing the necessity for external water sources.

ECL boasts of an impressive power usage efficiency (PUE). While the Uptime Institute notes an average data center PUE of around 1.5 and some leading hyperscalars achieve about 1.1, ECL aims for a PUE of 1.05 in its facilities, allowing up to 50 kilowatts for every rack. The firm recently bagged $7 million in initial funding, steered jointly by Molex Ventures and Hyperwise Ventures. These investments will channel towards broadening ECL’s footprint and constructing their inaugural data center situated in Mountain View, Calif.