US data center developer ECL has partnered with hydrogen fuel cell developer PowerCell Group to support the development of hydrogen-powered data centers across the US.The partnership includes a firm purchase order for PowerCell PS190 fuel cell systems, as well as a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for approximately 300MW of additional hydrogen fuel cell capacity for use across ECL’s data center portfolio.“ECL is among the very few operators who not only run hydrogen in production but understand how to orchestrate it intelligently alongside storage and other energy sources as one integrated system,” said Richard Berkling, CEO of PowerCell Group. “Our firm order for PowerCell PS190 systems, alongside our broader non-binding MoU, sends a clear signal that hydrogen-powered AI data centers are moving from first-of-kind toward industrial scale.”First deployments will begin at ECL’s 35MW CSC-1 campus in Santa Clara, California, where PowerCell will deploy its containerized fuel cell systems within ECL’s FlexGrid microgrid architecture, which comprises grid power, natural gas, and battery storage.“We evaluated multiple fuel cell technologies under real operating conditions over two years at our MV-1 facility before selecting PowerCell and Bosch,” said Yuval Bachar, founder and CEO of ECL. “This is not a pilot or a proof of concept. We are deploying these PowerCell PS190 units with the operational data to back it up, and we are signing an MoU for an additional 300MW because the demand from AI operators for power in constrained markets far exceeds what any single grid connection can deliver.”The partners have already deployed fuel cell systems at ECL’s MV-1 facility in Mountain View, California. The system was launched in May 2025 and serves as the primary power source for the data center.The company is also targeting a 1GW hydrogen-powered AI data center in Texas, with Lambda as its first tenant.German engineering giant Bosch will support the partnership as PowerCell’s manufacturing partner and largest shareholder. The company will also support the integration of the power systems with ECL’s data center architecture.PowerCell is a Swedish hydrogen fuel cell company, founded in 2008 as a spin-off from the Volvo Group. Its fuel cell system is a modular unit capable of delivering 225kW of capacity and can be scaled to megawatt levels. The system uses a low-temperature Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cell.