Promising scenarios for the emergency power market after 2030

Energy-hungry data centers that run out of power can rely on emergency generators and UPS systems. But Ronald Lagerberg, Account Manager Power Solutions at Koninklijke Van Twist BV, thinks that the current emergency power era could come to an end around 2030. During IT Infrastructure he sketches in a lecture his vision for the future.

By: Dimitri Reijerman

Roaring diesel generators can keep data centers running at a time when data centers strive for the ideal of 100 percent uptime. 'Classic' emergency power generators run on diesel, but developments in technology and operations could make other options much more interesting in about ten years, says Lagerberg: "I'm making a bold statement: in 2030, emergency power will be different. There will be no more generators and UPSs. So what we sell at Koninklijke Van Twist will no longer exist."

He continues: “Why does that happen? And what is the way to get there? There are a number of important developments in the market. The word diesel is associated with diesel generators. That has a bad name by now, rightly or wrongly. An emergency generator also does not have to meet environmental requirements. So there are no exhaust filters or catalytic converters. Yet that problem is not too bad: most emergency generators only run on a trial basis, one hour per month at full load.”

But there is more at play than just a greater environmental awareness. “In addition, the entire energy market is changing, especially in the generation of energy,” says Lagerberg. “There is more and more decentralized generation, for example via solar panels. And that is a growing market. That all goes onto the grid, with all the consequences that entails. The power grid is difficult to stabilize with two-way traffic.”

Multifunctional role

Stabilizing the power grid is therefore an important factor. That is a big advantage of energy storage systems, says Lagerberg: “Energy storage systems that can both receive and deliver power are becoming increasingly important. In addition, they have to be used more often due to the strongly fluctuating supply of energy. The multifunctionality of energy storage systems lies in the fact that such a device can stabilize the grid, store energy for its own use or for someone else, and a company can use it as emergency power if I make sure I always have some left over. And another advantage is that a lot of components can be eliminated if a data center sets up such a system.”

When asked why data centers are not already switching en masse to energy storage systems, Lagerberg is brief: “Why not now? It has to do with costs/benefits. Public energy is currently too cheap, especially for companies. And with solar energy on their roofs, most companies are not yet self-sufficient. We are waiting for cheaper storage methods.”

Towards 2030, Lagerberg sees potential in data centres that generate enough electricity themselves and have a certain trading capacity available: “That will certainly happen with dynamic pricing for energy. Then you can already leave a UPS alone.”

More innovation needed

He does point out that there is still a lot of innovation needed in the energy storage market: “We currently have little affordable battery technology besides lithium-ion that is suitable for dynamic behavior. There are lead batteries that are much cleaner from an environmental point of view, but they are not suitable. Lithium-ion is an interim solution.”

Hydrogen is also not an option. “Hydrogen cannot withstand impact loads as a direct fuel and can only be usefully produced with large energy surpluses. And tests with a hydrogen fuel cell for an emergency power supply have flopped, mainly due to the technical challenges and the costs. Biodiesel can be an option for diesel generators. But it can cause bacteria and algae to form. So additional measures are needed for that, because that diesel is stagnant in the tanks.”

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