Norway Datacenter Dumps Diesel Diet, Goes Veggie With Biofuel Backup

Datacenter operator Stack Infrastructure has joined the ranks of companies switching to biofuel for its backup power source in a bid to offset some of the greenhouse gas emissions from its operations.

The Denver, Colorado-based biz operates bit barns in the Americas, Asia-Pacific region, and Europe, but it is a new facility on its OSL04 campus in Oslo, Norway, where it is rolling out the use of biofuel.

The biofuel in question is hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), or "advanced biofuel HVO100," according to the firm, which means that it is 100 percent vegetable oil rather than being partly blended with diesel.

As with other operators, Stack has picked HVO100 as a fuel for its backup generators, in place of the standard diesel traditionally used for this purpose.

The company said it is committed to reducing and eventually eliminating Scope 1 emissions from its datacenters, which are those directly emitted by an organization from sources it owns or controls. Advanced biofuels such as HVO can reduce but not eliminate this as the hydrotreatment process involves reacting the oils with hydrogen at high temperature and pressure.

According to Stack, burning 1,000 liters of HVO will release 195 kg of carbon dioxide, compared to 3,600 kg for the same amount of regular diesel. The company also claims the biofuel is less polluting, producing 33 percent fewer fine particles, lower levels of nitrogen oxides, 24 to 30 percent lower carbon monoxide, and lower levels of polyaromatic hydrocarbons than traditional diesel, leading to lower smoke and soot emissions.

"Stack understands that sustainability is a business imperative that shapes how we design, construct, and operate critical infrastructure in an increasingly digital world," said the company's EMEA chief, John Eland.

"To address our Scope 2 emissions, we already utilize 100 percent renewable energy across our global datacenter portfolio," Eland added. "Implementing HVO100 aligns with our commitment to reducing our Scope 1 emissions, marking a significant step toward a greener future."

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Earlier this year, global bit barn firm Digital Realty said it was replacing diesel with HVO at sites in the US to reduce carbon dioxide emissions following a successful trial implementation in Europe.

Cloud giant AWS also announced last year it was making the move to HVO for backup power generators at its datacenters in Europe, with sites in Ireland and Sweden the first to make the switch.

As far as operators are concerned, HVO has advantages over some other biodiesel replacements as it does not require any modification to the backup generators. It is also said to remain stable in cold winter temperatures and deliver similar performance to conventional diesel.

However, other operators have chosen alternatives to simply putting a different fuel in their diesel generators. Equinix is testing fuel cell technology as an alternative backup power source, starting with a demonstration unit at one of its facilities in Dublin, Ireland. It was beaten by Dutch datacenter biz NorthC, which put in place a hydrogen fuel cell module at one of its facilities back in 2022. ®