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US-20260129787-A1 - VERTICALLY INTEGRATED FUEL CELL SYSTEM AND DATA CENTER SERVER RACKS

US20260129787A1US 20260129787 A1US20260129787 A1US 20260129787A1US-20260129787-A1

Abstract

A system includes a multi-level structure, a fuel cell power generation system including a plurality of power modules and at least one step load module containing supercapacitors located on at least one level of the multi-level structure, and a data center located on the at least one level of the multi-level structure and electrically connected to the fuel cell power generation system.

Inventors

  • Razvan PANATI
  • Prasad PMSVVSV
  • Chad Pearson
  • Carl Cottuli

Assignees

  • BLOOM ENERGY CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20251105

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A system, comprising: a multi-level structure; a fuel cell power generation system comprising a plurality of power modules and at least one step load module comprising supercapacitors located on the at least one level of the multi-level structure; and a data center located on the at least one level of the multi-level structure and electrically connected to the fuel cell power generation system.
  2. 2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the data center is located on a different level of the multi-level structure from the fuel cell power generation system.
  3. 3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the fuel cell power generation system is located on a first level of the multi-level structure, and the data center is located on an overlying level of the multi-level structure located above the first level.
  4. 4 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the fuel cell power generation system is located on the first level and a second level of the multi-level structure which overlies the first level, and the data center is located on a third level of the multi-level structure located above the first and the second levels.
  5. 5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein: the first level comprises a ground level; the second level comprises a top surface of metal racks that are supported by rack support posts standing on the ground level; and the third level comprises a platform that is supported by columns which are anchored to the ground level.
  6. 6 . The system of claim 5 , wherein: the data center comprises a plurality of server racks supporting servers and located in at least one container; the fuel cell power generation system comprises a plurality of rows located on the ground level and on the metal racks; each of the plurality of rows comprises: at least one common fuel cell support base supporting a subset of the plurality of fuel cell power modules located in respective cabinets, and a respective power conditioning module located in a respective cabinet; and at least one common step load module support base supporting a plurality of the step load modules located in respective cabinets.
  7. 7 . The system of claim 6 , further comprising vertically extending exhaust ducts fluidly connected to the fuel cell power modules and extending through openings in the metal racks and in the platform.
  8. 8 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising: at least one direct current (DC) power distribution unit (PDU) that electrically connects the fuel cell power modules and the at last one step load module to power shelves of server racks of the data center; and at least one alternating current (AC) PDU that electrically connects the fuel cell power modules to AC powered auxiliary components of the data center.
  9. 9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the DC PDU comprises: a DC bus; DC lines which electrically connect the fuel cell power modules and the at least one step load module to the DC bus; and DC connecting lines which electrically connect the DC bus to the power shelves.
  10. 10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the AC PDU comprises: an AC bus; an AC line which electrically connects the fuel cell power modules to the AC bus; and AC connecting lines which electrically connect the AC bus to the AC powered auxiliary components.
  11. 11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein: the server racks comprise liquid cooled sever racks; and the AC powered auxiliary components comprise at least one of a data center air conditioning unit, at least one AC power shelf of AC powered cooling rack, or AC powered control electronics.
  12. 12 . The system of claim 8 , further comprising at least one battery module, and at least one DC/DC converter module which electrically connects the DC PDU to the at least one battery module.
  13. 13 . A system, comprising: a fuel cell power generation system; a data center comprising server racks containing servers and power shelves; at least one direct current (DC) power distribution unit (PDU) that electrically connects the fuel cell power generation system to the power shelves of the server racks of the data center; and at least one alternating current (AC) PDU that electrically connects the fuel cell power generation system to AC powered auxiliary components of the data center.
  14. 14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the fuel cell power generation system comprises fuel cell power modules and step load modules comprising supercapacitors that are electrically connected to the DC PDU.
  15. 15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the DC PDU comprises: a DC bus; DC lines which electrically connect the fuel cell power modules and the step load modules to the DC bus; and DC connecting lines which electrically connect the DC bus to the power shelves.
  16. 16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the AC PDU comprises: an AC bus; an AC line which electrically connects the fuel cell power modules to the AC bus; and AC connecting lines which electrically connect the AC bus to the AC powered auxiliary components.
  17. 17 . The system of claim 16 , wherein: the server racks comprise liquid cooled sever racks; and the AC powered auxiliary components comprise at least one of a data center air conditioning unit, at least one AC power shelf of AC powered cooling rack, or AC powered control electronics.
  18. 18 . The system of claim 14 , further comprising at least one battery module, and at least one DC/DC converter module which electrically connects the DC PDU to the at least one battery module.
  19. 19 . The system of claim 14 , wherein: the fuel cell power generation system is located on at least one level of a multi-level structure; and the data center is located on a different level of the multi-level structure from the fuel cell power generation system.
  20. 20 . The system of claim 19 , wherein the fuel cell power generation system is located on a first level of the multi-level structure, and the data center is located on an overlying level of the multi-level structure located above the first level.

Description

FIELD The present disclosure is generally directed to vertically integrated fuel cell systems and data center servers. BACKGROUND Rapid and inexpensive installation can help to increase the prevalence of electrochemical systems, such as fuel cell systems. Installation costs for pour-in-place custom designed concrete pads, which generally require trenching for plumbing and electrical lines, can become prohibitive. Installation time is also a problem in the case of most sites since concrete pours and trenches generally require one or more building permits and building inspector reviews. Furthermore, stationary fuel cell systems may be installed in a location where the cost of real estate is quite high or the available space is limited (e.g., a loading dock, a narrow alley or space between buildings, etc.). The system installation should have a high utilization of available space. When a considerable amount of stand-off space is required for access to the system via doors and the like, installation real estate costs increase significantly. When the number of fuel cell systems to be installed on a site increases, one problem which generally arises is that stand-off space between these systems is required (to allow for maintenance of one unit or the other unit). The space between systems is lost in terms of its potential to be used by the customer of the system. In the case of some fuel cell system designs, these problems are resolved by increasing the overall capacity of the monolithic system design. However, this creates new challenges as the size and weight of the concrete pad required increases. Therefore, this strategy tends to increase the system installation time. Furthermore, as the minimum size of the system increases, the fault tolerance of the design is reduced. The fuel cell stacks or columns of these systems are usually located in hot boxes (i.e., thermally insulated containers). The hot boxes of existing large stationary fuel cell systems are housed in cabinets, housings or enclosures. SUMMARY According to various embodiments, a system includes a multi-level structure, a fuel cell power generation system including a plurality of power modules and at least one step load module containing supercapacitors located on the at least one level of the multi-level structure, and a data center located on the at least one level of the multi-level structure and electrically connected to the fuel cell power generation system. According to various embodiments, a system includes a fuel cell power generation system; a data center comprising server racks containing servers and power shelves; at least one direct current (DC) power distribution unit (PDU) that electrically connects the fuel cell power generation system to the power shelves of the server racks of the data center; and at least one alternating current (AC) PDU that electrically connects the fuel cell power generation system to AC powered auxiliary components of the data center. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a modular fuel cell system according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is top plan view of a modular fuel cell system according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an electrochemical cell system including a plurality of modules located on a skid, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 4A illustrates a perspective view of an electrochemical cell system according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 4B illustrates top plan view of the electrochemical cell system of FIG. 4A. FIG. 4C illustrates a schematic view of a skid of FIG. 4A. FIG. 5A is a perspective view of a multilevel structure comprising vertically integrated electrochemical cell systems, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 5B is a schematic top view showing one floor of the structure of FIG. 5A. FIG. 5C is a schematic top view showing structural elements of a bay of the floor of FIG. 5B. FIG. 5D is a schematic side view showing an exhaust conduit of the structure of FIG. 5A. FIG. 5E is a schematic side cross-sectional view of the multilevel structure including an alternate exhaust duct configuration, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is system block diagram of a power generation unit coupled with a data center, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 7A is a schematic top view showing one level of one floor of a combined structure for an electrochemical system and data center, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 7B is a schematic top view showing another level of one floor of a combined structure for an electrochemical system and data center of FIG. 7A, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. FIG. 7C is a schematic top view showing another floor of a combined structure for electrochemical system and data cen