WEBINAR

Always‑On, Always‑Cool: Reducing PUE With Carbonate Fuel Cells

Attendees will gain actionable insights into designing and deploying fuel cell-powered data centers, including strategies for load-following with Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), achieving high nines availability with modular, redundant power architecture, and optimizing site layouts for phased growth.

January 27, 2026

8:00 PM UTC

1 hour

Sponsored by

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January 27th , 2026

3:00 PM ET / 2:00 PM CT / 12:00 PM PT / 7:00 PM GMT

Duration: 1 hour

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Summary

As data centers race to support AI and cloud workloads, operators face mounting pressure to deliver reliable power, efficient cooling, and rapid deployment—all while keeping emissions and permitting hurdles in check. This webinar explores how on‑site carbonate fuel cells offer a breakthrough solution: delivering always‑on, combustion‑free megawatts and transforming high‑grade waste heat into chilled water for superior Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE).

FuelCell Energy’s modular, scalable and resilient fuel cell power blocks integrate seamlessly with absorption chilling systems. Operators can boost efficiency by leveraging waste heat for cooling, freeing up more power for compute, and lowering PUE at the facility level. The result? Faster time‑to‑power, reduced grid dependence, and a streamlined path through air permitting—especially in regions with strict Title V thresholds.

Topics Covered

On‑site, combustion‑free power generation at a competitive LCOE for data centers
Absorption chilling: turning waste heat into efficient cooling
Strategies to lower PUE and maximize usable compute power
Achieving high nines availability with modular, redundant power architecture
Load-following and ramp rate improvements with BESS integration
Fast deployment and permitting advantages (Title V compliance)
Footprint and layout considerations for scalable growth

Speaker

Kent McCord

Director of Solutions Engineering

FuelCell Energy

Kent is FuelCell Energy’s Director of Solutions Engineering, responsible for architecting fuel cell-based power solutions that meet the client’s critical needs. Kent is a distributed energy industry professional with 25 years of experience in a broad range of roles including product development, applications engineering, product management, marketing and business development. Kent’s expertise includes a variety of distributed generation technologies including fuel cells, reciprocating engines, organic Rankine cycle (ORC) waste-heat-to-electricity systems, battery energy storage systems, and commercial solar solutions. Prior to his commercial focus, Kent lead integrated product development teams in both fuel cell and ORC system design at United Technologies Corporation. Kent is a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering, and holds a master’s degree in Energy Management from New York Institute of Technology.

Moderator

David Chernicoff

Senior Editor

Data Center Frontier

David Chernicoff is an experienced technologist and editorial content creator with the ability to see the connections between technology and business while figuring out how to get the most from both and to explain the needs of business to IT and IT to business.