Regardless of whether data center developers try to self-generate because of lack of grid power, community pushback, or energy crises, hydrogen fuel cells provide alternate energy.
A few months back, Joshua Feinberg from DCSMI spoke with Yuval Bachar, Founder and CEO at ECL.
They talked about the biggest data center mistakes with construction and hydrogen fuel cells.
Yuval breaks down two philosophical and practical errors he sees in the market.
This video is excerpted from the podcast Ep. 128 Yuval Bachar, Founder and CEO at ECL | Data Center Go-to-Market Podcast.
Yuval Bachar discusses common mistakes in the alternate energy and data center construction industries. He highlights the reliance on government subsidies for sustainable solutions, which can lead to business instability when support is withdrawn, as seen with the shift in US policy towards green hydrogen.
Bachar advocates for a blended approach using both green and blue hydrogen to ensure operational resilience.
He also warns against rushing technological advancements, emphasizing the need for a stable, mature infrastructure that can support new technologies over time, rather than constantly upgrading to the latest equipment, which can create unnecessary stress and obsolescence.
Action Items
- Implement and maintain a blended green/blue hydrogen energy strategy for data center operations to ensure viability without reliance on government subsidies and to support customer discussions
- Establish and enforce a staged technology deployment plan that allows 2–3 years between phases to fully deploy and stabilize infrastructure and compute/GPU technologies
Outline
Mistakes in Alternate Energy and Data Center Construction
- Joshua Feinberg asks Yuval Bachar about the biggest mistakes in the industry regarding alternate energy and hydrogen fuel cells in data center construction.
- Yuval Bachar emphasizes the philosophical mistake of relying too heavily on government subsidies and support, which makes businesses less viable without them.
- Yuval mentions the impact of the new US administration's decision to de-prioritize green hydrogen, causing issues for businesses that relied on subsidies.
- He suggests a blended approach using both green and blue hydrogen to create data centers that are independent of government subsidies.
- Yuval warns against rushing technological advancements, highlighting the need for a stable and mature infrastructure, and the stress caused by constant updates that make equipment obsolete.
Mistake #1: The Subsidy Trap 💰
Yuval believes that philosophically, businesses should be viable on their own; without relying on government control, support, or financing.
Many sustainable data center solutions are heavily dependent on government subsidies and investment.
This overlooks the fundamental need for self-viability.
Yuval saw the risk with green hydrogen: when government priorities shift, businesses that relied on those subsidies face major problems.
Instead, ECL chose a "blended environment, green blue" path to create data centers irrespective of government support. This approach is extremely helpful when discussing viability with customers.
Mistake #2: Running Too Fast on Technology 💨
The speed at which we're pursuing new technology steps is too fast.
When you run too fast, your probability of falling on your face is way too high.
It takes 2 to 3 years to deploy and stabilize technology in infrastructure, compute, or GPUs.
We must allow time for phases to mature, not constantly loop to the "next one, the next one."
A fast technology cycle stresses the infrastructure, which can’t catch up quickly because its cycles are different.
Constantly buying the "latest and greatest" means your equipment is obsolete every 12 months—and that is not sustainable.
Guest Resources
- Connect with Yuval Bachar, Founder and CEO at ECL, on LinkedIn
- Follow ECL on LinkedIn
- Learn About ECL
Resources
- Connect with Joshua Feinberg, CEO at DCSMI, on LinkedIn
- Follow DCSMI on LinkedIn
- Follow the Data Center Go-to-Market Podcast on LinkedIn
- Learn About DCSMI
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