Simulation to analyze operation strategy of combined cooling and power system using a high-temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cell for data centers

Abstract

With the development of the information and communication technology (ICT) industry, the energy consumption of data centers is continuously increasing. High-temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cells (HT-PEFC) have a high operating temperature of 120 °C or higher; thus, the heat generated from fuel cells stack is effectively used as a heat source for a absorption refrigerator (AR) to generate cooling. The combined cooling and power (CCP) system is proposed to satisfy the energy demand of data centers that require both power and cooling. The CCP system comprises an HT-PEFC and a double-effect AR that recovers the wasted heat of the fuel cell stack. As a result of analyzing the electrical and cooling efficiency of the CCP system according to the fuel cell operating conditions, the overall efficiency increased to 95%, which was significantly higher than the existing system. Based on the simulation of the developed model, coefficient of performance (COP) and cooling capacity depending on the temperature changes of chilled water and cooling water were calculated within the stack temperature range of 150–180 °C, and the COP changed from 1.1 to 1.58 depending on the conditions. The developed CCP system model can be used to plan strategies for flexible fuel cell operation according to the power and cooling demands required in the data center.