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Low-temperature driven absorption refrigeration system with organic working pair for hydrogen-powered data centers.

Author(s) : ZHANG Y., GAO P., WANG Q., DONG Y., ZHANG C., WANG L.

Type of article: IJR article

Summary

The rapid growth of computational loads in data centers has led to soaring energy consumption, excessive thermal loads, and rising carbon emissions. Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) offer a promising pathway toward zero-carbon operation; however, their integration with data centers remains hindered by high refrigeration energy demand and significant low-grade heat losses. To overcome these challenges, this study proposes a combined cooling and power system that couples PEMFC with absorption refrigeration. An organic
working pair of R32-DMF was employed to recover low-temperature waste heat (60-80◦C) from PEMFC for refrigeration. An experimental absorption refrigeration system using this working pair was designed and tested under PEMFC-relevant operating conditions (55-75◦C). The results demonstrate that with rising PEMFC operating temperature, the system sustained an evaporation temperature below 14◦C and reached a coefficient of performance of 0.52 under a 55◦C driving heat source. Compared with a containerized data center equipped with
a 54 kW Information Technology load and a conventional vapor-compression refrigeration system, the proposed system reduced refrigeration energy consumption by 53.6% and saved 11.82 kg of hydrogen per day. These findings demonstrate the strong potential of PEMFC-based combined cooling and power systems using organic working pairs to reduce energy demand in data centers and enhance hydrogen utilization. The proposed system provides a novel technical pathway toward low-carbon and energy-efficient data center operation.

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Pages: 11 p.

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Details

  • Original title: Low-temperature driven absorption refrigeration system with organic working pair for hydrogen-powered data centers.
  • Record ID : 30034779
  • Languages: English
  • Subject: Technology
  • Source: International Journal of Refrigeration - Revue Internationale du Froid - vol. 185
  • Publication date: 2026/05
  • DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2026.02.010

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