Bharti Airtel subsidiary Nxtra has partnered with Bloom Energy to deploy a hydrogen-ready fuel cell unit at its data centre in Karnataka.

According to Nxtra, it will be the first data centre company in India to deploy fuel cell technology to reduce carbon emissions at its facilities.

Nxtra 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.

Rajesh Tapadia, COO of Nxtra, said, “Nxtra is committed to set new benchmarks in sustainability for the data centre industry and play a leading role as India emerges as leading data centre destination in APAC.

“With an ambition to reach net zero by 2031, we have embarked on our sustainability journey by making all possible efforts to adopt innovative energy solutions. Our partnership with Bloom Energy is a testament to our future-ready energy strategy to supply much cleaner energy to our data centres.”

“Bloom Energy’s technology is distinctly capable of helping India meet its decarbonisation objectives as it transitions to a hydrogen economy,” added Tim Schweikert, Senior Managing Director, international business development, Bloom Energy. 

“We are proud to collaborate with Nxtra to support them in their pursuit of using clean, reliable and affordable power for their data centres.”

Nxtra currently has a portfolio of over 120 data centres across India, and has partnered with eight organisations to develop renewable energy power plants across India to source more than 180,000 MWh of renewable energy.