Introduction
Data centres are becoming the new energy giants. Driven by the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence and digital services, their electricity demand is rising at unprecedented speed. By 2025, global investment in data centres will reach USD 580 billion — surpassing projected global oil supply investment. By 2030, electricity use by AI‑optimised servers is expected to increase fivefold, doubling total consumption by data centres.
Yet despite this extraordinary growth, data centres will account for less than 10% of global electricity demand growth between 2024 and 2030. The concentration of new capacity in the United States, China, and the European Union often clustered near major cities is already intensifying grid congestion and connection queues. Supply chain constraints and permitting delays could put around 20% of new projects at risk.
This is not just an energy challenge it is a resilience challenge. If the backbone of our digital economy depends on fragile grids, we risk bottlenecks that stall innovation, compromise reliability, and slow the very technologies driving global competitiveness.
Clean Hydrogen: Another Way Forward
Clean hydrogen offers a credible alternative to grid dependence.
• On‑site hydrogen generation and microgrids can provide autonomy, reducing exposure to grid volatility.
• Hydrogen storage delivers long‑duration backup beyond the limits of batteries, ensuring continuity during outages or seasonal imbalances.
• Integration with renewables allows hydrogen to act as a balancing agent, storing excess solar or wind energy and releasing it when demand peaks.
• Policy frameworks and hydrogen valleys can accelerate adoption globally, creating ecosystems where hydrogen production, storage, and use are scaled efficiently.
Hydrogen is not a silver bullet, but it is a strategic enabler. It offers data centres the ability to move from passive consumers of grid electricity to active participants in resilient, decentralised energy systems.
Hydrogen from Curtailed Renewables: A Multiple Dividend Solution
One of the most powerful opportunities lies in harnessing curtailed renewable electricity the surplus power that grids cannot absorb during peak generation. Today, wind and solar farms are frequently forced to reduce output because transmission networks are saturated. This “lost energy” represents wasted investment and missed decarbonisation potential.
Hydrogen transforms this challenge into a multiple‑solution strategy:
• Unlocking grid access for more renewables.
Electrolysers convert curtailed electricity into hydrogen, creating headroom in congested grids and enabling faster renewable deployment.
• Capturing lost energy.
Instead of wasting surplus wind or solar, hydrogen production stores it in chemical form, ready to be used for data centres, industry, or reconverted to electricity.
• Creating headroom in saturated grids.
By diverting excess renewable power into hydrogen, operators relieve stress on transmission lines and open space for new loads critical in urban clusters where data centres concentrate.
• Enabling sector coupling.
Hydrogen links electricity with transport, heating, and industry, allowing data centres to integrate into wider hydrogen ecosystems and share infrastructure.
For data centres, this means hydrogen is not just backup power. It is a system‑level solution that enhances resilience, accelerates renewable integration, and positions them as active participants in decarbonization.
The Strategic Imperative
The question is no longer whether data centres will reshape global energy demand. That is already happening. The real question is whether we can reshape energy systems fast enough with hydrogen deployed at the right cost to meet them.
Ireland, preparing for its role in the European Council Presidency in 2026, has a unique opportunity to lead. By championing hydrogen valleys, cross‑border innovation, and resilient energy strategies, Ireland can position itself as a convenor of global solutions. Partnerships with Europe, India, and the UAE are already demonstrating how hydrogen can bridge technical excellence with societal relevance.
Conclusion: Powering the Digital Backbone with Resilience
Data centres are the digital backbone of our economies. Their growth is inevitable, but their energy systems must be intentional. Clean hydrogen provides a pathway to resilience, sustainability, and innovation ensuring that the infrastructure powering AI, cloud services, and digital transformation is as robust as the technologies it supports.
By harnessing curtailed renewables, hydrogen delivers multiple dividends, it solves grid congestion, unlocks renewable growth, and provides long‑duration storage all while powering the digital backbone sustainably.
As global hydrogen partnerships deepen, and as policymakers grapple with grid congestion and energy security, the opportunity is clear, we must ensure the digital backbone of tomorrow is powered by clean, resilient energy today, providing data security in line with energy security.