Bharti Airtel’s subsidiary Nxtra Data Limited to deploy low environmental impact fuel cell technology at its data center in Karnataka.
It will be the first data center company in India to deploy this technology.
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The hydrogen-ready fuel cell unit will supply much cleaner energy to Nxtra’s data center in the state of Karnataka and is said to reduce emissions.
The company plans to start the unit on non-combusted natural gas and then switch to 50% hydrogen. The natural gas-powered cells will be used for primary generation with utility electrical grid and generators as backup sources.
Fuel cell technology converts chemical energy from hydrogen and other fuels into electricity through an electrochemical reaction, not combustion, thereby reducing carbon footprint.
Nxtra has already invested in developing renewable energy power plants across India and aims to achieve 50% of its power requirements through renewable energy sources in the next 12 months.
The Carlyle Group-backed company offers data centres in India to leading enterprises, hyperscalers, start-ups, SMEs and governments.
