System and method for supplying and distributing power and chilled water in off-grid data center

Abstract

An off-grid data center 2a comprises: a gas turbine combined cycle power generation plant 50 for suppling power to IT equipment 10 housed in a data center room 11; a cooling device 20 for cooling the IT equipment; and an air conditioner 30 for air-conditioning the data center room. The IT equipment 10 is made to perform information processing with power generated by the gas turbine combined cycle power generation plant 50 that generates power by using hydrogen gas supplied from a vaporizer 40 that vaporizes liquefied hydrogen, and a refrigerator 60 is operated to cool second chilled water to a second temperature. The data center room is air-conditioned by using, in the air conditioner 30, first chilled water cooled to a first temperature by the vaporizer 40. In a heat exchanger 75, the second chilled water cooled to the second temperature is cooled by surplus first chilled water not used in the air conditioner 30.

Description

System and method for distributing power and chilled water in an off-grid data center

[0001] The present invention relates to a system and method for distributing power and chilled water to an off-grid data center that supplies power to IT equipment such as servers housed in a data center room, supplies chilled water for cooling the IT equipment, and supplies chilled water for air conditioning the data center room.

[0002] IT equipment such as servers consume large amounts of electricity and generate a lot of heat when in operation. Therefore, data centers, which house a large number of IT devices, consume a large amount of electricity. To prevent malfunctions or failures caused by the heat generated, it is necessary to cool the IT equipment and to maintain a comfortable temperature in the data center rooms where the IT equipment is housed and workers perform their tasks. The electricity used in data centers mainly consists of electricity used by IT equipment such as servers for data processing, electricity used to cool the heat generated by the IT equipment, and electricity used to air condition the data center rooms where the IT equipment is housed. Because data centers use electricity continuously, a stable power supply is required day and night. Hyperscale data centers, which are currently under construction, require a large-scale power supply. Many businesses that use data centers are increasingly seeking decarbonized electricity such as renewable energy. With the expansion of data centers due to the increased use of generative AI and the resulting surge in electricity consumption, it is difficult to meet the three requirements of stability, energy efficiency, and decarbonization with commercially available electricity. Therefore, there is a need for data centers that are off-grid by having a power plant attached to them, enabling them to supply their own electricity. Furthermore, it is said that the electricity used for cooling IT equipment in data centers and for air conditioning in the data center rooms where the IT equipment is housed accounts for 20-30% of the total electricity used by the data center, so there is a need for energy conservation. Patent Document 1 describes the installation of a cogeneration type air conditioning system equipped with a cogeneration device 4 in a data center 1. The electricity generated by the steam power generator 6 and hot water power generator 7 of the cogeneration device 4 is supplied as a power source to server equipment 27 etc. in the data center 1, and also drives the fluid compressor of the chiller 91 to send chilled water to the chiller 91 to cool the server equipment 27. The chilled water cooled by the chiller 91 is supplied to a heat exchanger 141 installed in the oil storage tank 14, and cools the cooling oil stored in the oil storage tank 14 by heat exchange. A portion of the cooled cooling oil flows down from the cooling oil supply unit 12 to the server device 27 within the server room space A1, cooling the server device 27.The remaining cooled coolant is supplied from the second coolant supply unit 162 to the air cooling unit 16 of the air recovery unit 15. After the server device 27 is cooled and heated in the server room space A1, the air recovered in the air recovery unit 15 is cooled by the air cooling unit 16.

[0003] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2019-153241

[0004] The cogeneration-type air conditioning system described in Patent Document 1 can save energy in the data center 1 by supplying power generated by a cogeneration device 4 using surplus steam and hot water generated at steel mills, factories, etc., to the server equipment 27 of the data center 1 as operating power. Furthermore, the server equipment 27 can be cooled at low cost by exchanging heat between chilled water produced by a chiller 9 driven by the power generated by the cogeneration device 4 and the cooling oil used to cool the server equipment 27 in the server room space A1. However, the power generated by the cogeneration-type air conditioning system described in Patent Document 1 does not meet the stability and decarbonization requirements for power supplied to the data center 1 because the steam power generation device 6 and hot water power generation device 7 are operated using surplus steam and hot water generated at steel mills, factories, etc. Furthermore, while Patent Document 1 describes supplying chilled water from a refrigerator 9 to an electronic equipment cooling device 10 for cooling a server device 27, it does not describe the relationship between the air conditioning system that provides air conditioning for the data center room containing a server room 20 that houses multiple server devices 27 in a sealed state and the electronic equipment cooling device 10.

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for stably, decarbonize, and energy-saving supply of electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center, which includes a power supply device that supplies power to IT equipment such as servers for data processing, a cooling device for cooling the IT equipment that generates heat when it consumes power, and an air conditioning device for air conditioning the data center room where the IT equipment is housed.

[0006] The present invention relates to a system for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center comprising: a power supply device that supplies power to IT equipment in a data center room where IT equipment is housed; a cooling device for cooling the IT equipment that generates heat by consuming power; and an air conditioning device for air conditioning the data center room, wherein the system comprises: a vaporizer that exchanges heat between liquefied hydrogen supplied from a liquefied hydrogen supply device and circulating first chilled water to vaporize the liquefied hydrogen into hydrogen gas, and cools the first chilled water to a first temperature before sending it out; a gas turbine generator that rotates a gas turbine to drive a generator using combustion gas produced by the combustion of the hydrogen gas supplied from the vaporizer; and a steam turbine generator that rotates a steam turbine to drive a generator using steam generated by heating condensed water with exhaust gas discharged from the gas turbine in a waste heat recovery boiler, and condenses the exhaust steam discharged from the steam turbine into condensed water in a condenser and sends it to the waste heat recovery boiler, and the data This is a system for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center, comprising: a gas turbine combined cycle power plant that supplies power to the IT equipment housed in the center room; a chiller equipped with a compressor, condenser, expansion valve, evaporator, and an electric motor that drives the compressor using a portion of the power supplied from the gas turbine combined cycle power plant, which cools the second chilled water circulating through the cooling device to a second temperature higher than the first temperature; a flow divider that divides the first chilled water cooled to the first temperature in the vaporizer into air conditioning chilled water of the required flow rate for the air conditioning system, which circulates through the air conditioning system and returns to the vaporizer, and the remaining flow rate of cooling chilled water; and a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the second chilled water supplied from the chiller and the cooling chilled water supplied from the flow divider, cooling the second chilled water to a third temperature higher than the first temperature and lower than the second temperature, sending it to the cooling device, and returning the cooling chilled water that has exchanged heat with the second chilled water to the vaporizer.

[0007] Furthermore, the present invention relates to a method for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center comprising: a power supply device that supplies power to IT equipment in a data center room where IT equipment is housed; a cooling device for cooling the IT equipment that consumes power and generates heat; and an air conditioning device for air conditioning the data center room, comprising: a vaporizer that exchanges heat between liquefied hydrogen supplied from a liquefied hydrogen supply device and circulating first chilled water to vaporize the liquefied hydrogen into hydrogen gas; a gas turbine generator that cools the first chilled water to a first temperature and sends it out, and rotates a gas turbine to drive a generator using combustion gas produced by the combustion of the hydrogen gas supplied from the vaporizer; and a steam turbine generator that rotates a steam turbine to drive a generator using steam produced by heating condensed water with exhaust gas discharged from the gas turbine in a waste heat recovery boiler, and condenses the exhaust steam discharged from the steam turbine into condensed water in a condenser and sends it out to the waste heat recovery boiler. This is a method for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center, comprising: supplying electricity from a bin combined cycle power plant to the IT equipment housed in the data center room; cooling the second chilled water circulating through the cooling system to a second temperature higher than the first temperature using a chiller equipped with a compressor, condenser, expansion valve, evaporator, and an electric motor that drives the compressor with a portion of the electricity supplied from the gas turbine combined cycle power plant; dividing the first chilled water cooled to the first temperature in the vaporizer into a required flow rate of conditioned chilled water and the remaining flow rate of cooling chilled water using a flow divider; and cooling the second chilled water to a third temperature higher than the first temperature and lower than the second temperature using a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the second chilled water supplied from the chiller and the cooling chilled water supplied from the flow divider, before sending it to the cooling system and returning the cooling chilled water, which has exchanged heat with the second chilled water, to the vaporizer.

[0008] According to the present invention, in an off-grid data center, self-sufficient electricity generated by using hydrogen gas, which is vaporized from liquefied hydrogen in a vaporizer, in a gas turbine combined cycle power plant can be stably and decarbonizedly supplied to IT equipment. The first chilled water, cooled to a first temperature by the removal of the heat of vaporization required when liquefied hydrogen vaporizes in the vaporizer, is divided by a flow divider into air conditioning chilled water required for the air conditioning system that maintains a predetermined temperature in the data center room where the IT equipment is housed, and the remaining flow rate of cooling chilled water. The air conditioning chilled water returns to the vaporizer after air conditioning the data center room. The second chilled water, which has cooled the IT equipment in the cooling system and then circulated through a chiller, is cooled to a second temperature higher than the first temperature in the chiller. The second chilled water, cooled to the second temperature, exchanges heat with the remaining flow rate of cooling chilled water in a heat exchanger, and is cooled to a third temperature higher than the first temperature and lower than the second temperature before being sent to the cooling system. The cooling water recirculates from the heat exchanger to the vaporizer. This allows for energy savings in both the air conditioning and cooling of IT equipment within the data center, by distributing the cooling energy generated as latent heat of vaporization when liquefied hydrogen is vaporized to produce hydrogen gas used for generating electricity in off-grid data centers to the air conditioning and cooling systems. Furthermore, the amount of cooling energy necessary to maintain a predetermined temperature in the data center is transferred to the air conditioning system via the cooling water, and the remaining amount of cooling energy is transferred from the cooling water to a second chilled water cooled by a refrigerator for use in the cooling system. This allows for further energy savings by effectively utilizing the cooling energy generated in the vaporizer regardless of changes in weather conditions.

[0009] This is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a system for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center according to the first embodiment. This is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a system for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center according to the second embodiment. This is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a system for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center according to the third embodiment. This is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of a system for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center according to the fourth embodiment. This is a diagram showing the mass energy balance of a system for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center according to the first embodiment.

[0010] 1. Configuration of the First Embodiment According to the first embodiment, the system 1a that supplies power and chilled water to an off-grid data center 2a that supplies power to IT equipment 10 such as servers housed in large numbers in a data center room 11, cools the IT equipment 10 that consume power and generate heat for data processing, and air-conditions the data center room 11 according to the outdoor temperature, solar radiation, incoming outside air, number of people in the room, indoor lighting, etc., is as shown in Figure 1, and comprises a cooling device 20 for cooling the IT equipment 10, an air conditioning device 30 for air-conditioning the data center room 11, and a system that exchanges heat between liquefied hydrogen and first chilled water 41 to produce hydrogen gas. The system includes a vaporizer 40 that vaporizes and cools the first chilled water 41 to a first temperature before sending it out, a gas turbine combined cycle power plant 50 that supplies power to the IT equipment 10, a chiller 60 that cools the second chilled water 21 that has circulated through the cooling device 20 to a second temperature higher than the first temperature, a flow divider 70 that divides the first chilled water 41 cooled by the vaporizer 40 into air conditioning chilled water 43 and cooling chilled water 42, and a heat exchanger 75 that exchanges heat between the second chilled water 21 at the second temperature supplied from the chiller 60 and the cooling chilled water 42 supplied from the flow divider 70 to cool the second chilled water 21 to a third temperature higher than the first temperature and lower than the second temperature.

[0011] The data center room 11, located in the data center building 12, houses numerous IT devices 10, such as servers, which consume power and generate heat for data processing. Multiple racks 13 are arranged in the data center room 11, and each rack 13 has multiple shelves arranged vertically for placing multiple IT devices 10 in parallel. The numerous servers and other IT devices 10 consume a large amount of power and generate heat for data processing. To prevent malfunctions caused by the rising temperature of the IT devices 10, a cooling system 20 cools the IT devices 10.

[0012] The cooling device 20 for cooling the IT equipment 10 takes in air from the data center room 11 and circulates it through the high-temperature side 23 of the cooling exchanger 22, circulates the low-temperature side 24 with second chilled water 21 at a third temperature supplied from the heat exchanger 75, and blows the cooled air, which has been cooled by the second chilled water 21, from the outlet 25 onto the multiple IT equipment 10 placed on the rack 13 to cool the IT equipment 10. The cooling device 20 is not limited to cooling by blowing cold air onto the IT equipment 10, but may also be a chilled water cooling system that cools the IT equipment by exchanging heat with chilled water. Alternatively, the IT equipment 10 may be cooled by immersing it in cooling oil cooled with second chilled water 21 at a third temperature while it is placed on the rack 13.

[0013] In the vaporizer 40, liquefied hydrogen supplied from the liquefied hydrogen supply device 47 flows on the low-temperature side 44, and circulating first chilled water 41 flows on the high-temperature side 45, causing heat exchange between the liquefied hydrogen and the first chilled water 41. This vaporizes the liquefied hydrogen into hydrogen gas, which is sent to the gas turbine combined cycle power plant 50, and the first chilled water 41 is cooled to a first temperature and sent to the flow divider 70.

[0014] The chiller 60 is a known type in which a refrigerant circulates through a compressor, condenser, expansion valve, and evaporator, and an electric motor 61 drives the compressor. The electric motor 61 is supplied with power from a gas turbine combined cycle power plant 50. The high-temperature, high-pressure gaseous medium pressurized by the compressor is cooled in the condenser by cooling water circulating between it and the cooling tower to become a medium-temperature, low-pressure liquid medium, and then vaporizes into a low-temperature, constant-pressure gas in the evaporator. The second chilled water 21 that has returned from the cooling device 20 to the chiller 60 supplies heat of vaporization to the medium in the evaporator and is cooled to a second temperature higher than the first temperature.

[0015] In the heat exchanger 75, second chilled water 21 at a second temperature supplied from the chiller 60 flows through the high-temperature side 76, and cooling chilled water 42 supplied from the flow divider 70 flows through the low-temperature side 77. The second chilled water 21 at the second temperature is cooled by the cooling chilled water 42 to a third temperature that is higher than the first temperature and lower than the second temperature. The cooling chilled water 42 that flows out from the low-temperature side 77 recirculates to the vaporizer 40.

[0016] The first chilled water 41, cooled to a first temperature in the vaporizer 40, is divided into cooling chilled water 42 and air conditioning chilled water 43 by the flow divider 70. The flow divider 70 includes a first variable throttle valve 71 that controls the flow resistance of the cooling chilled water 42 and a second variable throttle valve 72 that controls the flow resistance of the air conditioning chilled water 43. By controlling the flow resistances of the first and second variable throttle valves 71 and 72, the flow divider 70 divides the first chilled water 41 at the first temperature into air conditioning chilled water 43 at the flow rate required by the air conditioning system 30 and cooling chilled water 42 at the remaining flow rate that is supplied to the heat exchanger 75. The flow rate of air conditioning chilled water 43 required by the air conditioning system 30 is the flow rate required by the air conditioning system 30 to air condition the data center room 11 to a predetermined temperature.

[0017] The air conditioning system 30, which air-conditions the data center room 11 to a predetermined temperature, takes in air from the data center room 11 and circulates it through the high-temperature side 32 of the air conditioning heat exchanger 31, and flows air-conditioned chilled water 43 supplied from the flow divider 70 through the low-temperature side 33, cooling the air in the data center room 11 with the air-conditioned chilled water 43 to air-condition the data center room 11 to a predetermined temperature. The air-conditioned chilled water 43 that flows out from the low-temperature side 33 is recirculated to the vaporizer 40. The air conditioning control device 34 calculates the required flow rate of air-conditioned chilled water 43 necessary to air-condition the data center room 11 to a predetermined temperature based on the temperature difference between the indoor temperature of the server center room 11 and the outside air temperature, and controls the first and second variable throttle valves 71 and 72 so that the required flow rate of air-conditioned chilled water 43 flows through the low-temperature side 33 of the air conditioning heat exchanger 31. As a result, if the flow rate of the first chilled water 41 is set to 100, then depending on weather conditions, for example, the flow rate of the air conditioning chilled water 43 will range from 50 to 0, and the flow rate of the cooling chilled water 42 will range from 50 to 100.

[0018] The gas turbine combined cycle power plant (GTCC) 50 is a known type and includes a gas turbine generator 53 that drives a generator 52 by rotating a gas turbine 51 with combustion gas produced by the combustion of hydrogen gas supplied from a vaporizer 40, and a steam turbine generator 57 that drives a generator 56 by rotating a steam turbine 55 with steam produced by heating condensate water in a heat recovery boiler 54 with exhaust gas discharged from the gas turbine 51. The exhaust steam discharged from the steam turbine 55 is condensed into condensate water in a condenser and sent to the heat recovery boiler 54. The electricity generated by the gas turbine generator 53 and the steam turbine generator 57 is used for IT equipment 10 housed in the data center room 11, cooling equipment 20, air conditioning equipment 30, chillers 60, and lighting in the data center room 11.

[0019] 2. The liquefied hydrogen supplied from the working liquefied hydrogen supply device 47 of the first embodiment to the vaporizer 40 exchanges heat with the first chilled water 41 to vaporize into hydrogen gas, cooling the first chilled water 41 to a first temperature, for example, 7°C. The hydrogen gas is sent to the gas turbine combined cycle power plant 50, where it is burned to drive the gas turbine generator 53, and the combustion exhaust gas generates steam to drive the steam turbine generator 57 to generate electricity.

[0020] IT equipment 10, such as servers, which are powered by electricity from a gas turbine combined cycle power plant 50, generate heat by performing data processing and other operations. The cooling device 20 cools the IT equipment 10 by blowing cold air, generated by cooling air taken in from the data center room 11 with second chilled water 21 at a third temperature supplied from a heat exchanger 75, onto multiple IT equipment 10. After cooling the IT equipment 10, the second chilled water 21, which has been heated to, for example, 25°C, is recirculated to the refrigerator 60. The second chilled water 21 is cooled to a second temperature, for example, 15.5°C+ / -, in the refrigerator 60.

[0021] In the heat exchanger 75, second chilled water 21 at a second temperature supplied from the chiller 60 flows through the high-temperature side 76, and cooling chilled water 42 supplied from the flow divider 70 flows through the low-temperature side 77. The second chilled water 21 at the second temperature is cooled by the cooling chilled water 42 to a third temperature that is higher than the first temperature and lower than the second temperature, for example, 15°C. The cooling chilled water 42 that flows out from the low-temperature side 77 recirculates to the vaporizer 40.

[0022] The air conditioning unit 30 cools the air in the data center room 11 with chilled water 43 to air condition the data center room 11 to a predetermined temperature. The flow rate of chilled water 43 supplied to the air conditioning unit 30 is controlled by the flow divider 70 to the flow rate necessary for the air conditioning unit 30 to air condition the data center room 11 to a predetermined temperature. The remaining flow rate of chilled water 42 is cooled by the heat exchanger 75 from a second temperature to a third temperature, and the IT equipment 10 is cooled via the cooling device 20.

[0023] 3. Effects of the First Embodiment According to the first embodiment, in an off-grid data center 2a, self-sufficient electricity generated by burning hydrogen gas, which is vaporized from liquefied hydrogen in a vaporizer 40, in a gas turbine combined cycle power plant 50 can be stably supplied to IT equipment 10 in a decarbonized manner. Based on the temperature difference between the outside air temperature and the temperature inside the data center 11, the first chilled water, which has had its cooling energy transferred in the vaporizer 40, is divided by the flow divider 70 into the required flow rate of conditioned chilled water 43 for the air conditioning system 30 and the remaining flow rate of cooling chilled water 42. The conditioned chilled water 43 is used to maintain the inside of the data center 11 at a predetermined temperature, and the remaining flow rate of cooling chilled water 43 is used to cool the IT equipment 10. As a result, air conditioning of the inside of the data center 11 and cooling of the IT equipment 10 can be performed efficiently and energy-saving, regardless of changes in the outside air temperature. In this way, all the electricity used in the off-grid data center 2a is supplied by hydrogen gas power generation, the heat of vaporization of liquefied hydrogen is preferentially used for the air conditioning system 30, and any surplus can be used for the cooling system 20. When the outside temperature is low and the use of heat of vaporization by the air conditioning system 30 is low, it can be used more by the cooling system 20, thereby reducing the electricity used by the refrigeration system 60 and, consequently, the use of liquefied hydrogen.

[0024] 4. Configuration of the Second Embodiment The system 1b for supplying electricity and chilled water in the off-grid data center according to the second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except that, in the first embodiment, the gas turbine combined cycle power plant 50 is driven by the combustion of hydrogen gas, whereas in the second embodiment, the gas turbine combined cycle power plant 85 is driven by the combustion of methane gas produced by the hydrogenation reaction of hydrogen gas and recovered carbon dioxide. The differences will be explained, and the same reference numerals will be used for components that are the same as in the first embodiment, and their explanations will be omitted.

[0025] In the off-grid data center 2b, the vaporizer 40 sends hydrogen gas to a known methanation device 80. The methanation device 80 includes a reaction tube 81 configured to hydrogenate the hydrogen gas supplied from the vaporizer 40 and the recovered carbon dioxide supplied from the carbon dioxide supply device 83 into carbon neutral methane gas at a predetermined pressure and temperature using a hydrogenation reaction catalyst, and a cooling unit 82 that transfers the reaction heat generated in the hydrogenation reaction to circulating condensed water to maintain the inside of the reaction tube 81 at a predetermined temperature in which the hydrogenation catalyst is active, and sends out the condensed water as high-temperature water.

[0026] The gas turbine combined cycle power plant 85 is a known type and includes a gas turbine generator 88 that drives a generator 87 by rotating a gas turbine 86 with combustion gas produced by the co-firing of carbon-neutral methane gas supplied from the reaction tube 81 of the methanation unit 80 and hydrogen gas supplied from the vaporizer 40, and a steam turbine generator 57 that drives a generator 56 by rotating a steam turbine 55 with steam generated by heating high-temperature water supplied from the cooling section 82 of the methanation unit 80 with exhaust gas discharged from the gas turbine 86 in the waste heat recovery boiler 74. The exhaust steam discharged from the steam turbine 55 is condensed into condensate water in a condenser and sent to the cooling section 82 of the methanation unit 80. The electricity generated by the gas turbine generator 88 and the steam turbine generator 57 is supplied to IT equipment 10, the chiller 61 of the chiller 60, etc.

[0027] 5. Operation and Effects of the Second Embodiment The second embodiment can efficiently drive the gas turbine 86 with combustion gas of methane gas, which has a larger mass than hydrogen gas, and can stably burn methane gas at high temperatures by burning hydrogen gas. Furthermore, the second embodiment provides the same effects as the first embodiment.

[0028] In the second embodiment, hydrogen gas is supplied to the gas turbine 86 from the vaporizer 40. However, the supply of hydrogen gas may be discontinued, and the gas turbine 86 may be rotated by the combustion gas produced by the exclusive combustion of carbon-neutral methane gas supplied from the reaction tube 81 of the methanation device 80 to drive the generator 87.

[0029] 6. Third Embodiment The system 1c for supplying and distributing electricity and chilled water in the off-grid data center according to the third embodiment is the same as in the first embodiment except that the chiller 60 is replaced with a triple-effect absorption chiller 80. The differences will be explained, and the same reference numerals will be used for components that are the same as in the first embodiment, and their explanations will be omitted.

[0030] The triple-effect absorption chiller 62 is known, as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2014-196861, and as shown in Figure 3, comprises an absorber 63, a low-temperature regenerator 64, a medium-temperature regenerator 65, a high-temperature regenerator 66, a condenser 67, and an evaporator 68. The high-temperature regenerator 66 heats a dilute absorbent liquid containing a large amount of refrigerant, sent from the absorber 63 by an electric pump 69, with the combustion heat of hydrogen gas supplied by splitting the flow from the vaporizer 40, evaporating the refrigerant to create a concentrated absorbent liquid which is then sent back to the absorber 63 by the electric pump 69. The medium-temperature regenerator 65 heats the dilute absorbent liquid sent from the absorber 63 with refrigerant vapor generated in the high-temperature regenerator 66, evaporating the refrigerant and sending it back to the absorber 63. The low-temperature regenerator 64 heats the dilute absorbent liquid sent from the absorber 63 with refrigerant vapor generated in the high-temperature regenerator 66 and the medium-temperature regenerator 65, evaporating the refrigerant and sending it back to the absorber 63. The refrigerant vapor generated in the high, medium, and low-temperature regenerators 66, 65, and 64 is sent from the low-temperature regenerator 64 to the condenser 67 where it is liquefied, and then sent to the low-pressure evaporator 68 where it evaporates.

[0031] The second chilled water 21, which is circulated through the cooling device 20 to cool the IT equipment 10 and heated to, for example, 25°C, is sent from the condenser 67 to the low-pressure evaporator 68, where it is cooled by the heat of vaporization of the refrigerant that evaporates, and is cooled to a second temperature of 15.5°C+ / -, which is higher than the first temperature of 7°C. The vaporized refrigerant is sent to the absorber 63, cooled, and absorbed by the concentrated absorbent liquid sent from the high, medium, and low-temperature regenerators 46, 45, and 44. Power is supplied to each electric pump 69 from the gas turbine combined cycle power plant 50. The condenser 67 and absorber 63 are provided with cooling sections through which the cooling water circulates.

[0032] The third embodiment can reduce the consumption of electricity generated by the gas turbine combined cycle power plant 50 and efficiently cool the second chilled water used to cool the IT equipment 10 using hydrogen gas. Furthermore, the third embodiment provides the same effects as the first embodiment.

[0033] 7. Fourth Embodiment The system 1d for supplying and distributing electricity and chilled water in the off-grid data center according to the fourth embodiment is the same as in the second embodiment except that the chiller 60 is replaced with a waste heat input type triple-effect absorption chiller 90. The differences will be explained, and the same reference numerals will be used for components that are the same as in the second embodiment, and their explanations will be omitted.

[0034] A waste heat input type triple-effect absorption chiller 90 is also known, as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2014-196861, and as shown in Figure 4, a waste heat recovery regenerator 92 is added to the triple-effect absorption chiller 62 as a waste heat recovery device 91. The waste heat recovery regenerator 92 heats the dilute absorbent liquid sent from the absorber 63 by an electric pump 69 with high-temperature water from which the hydrogenation reaction heat has been transferred in the cooling section 82 of the methanation device 80, thereby evaporating the refrigerant. Although not shown, the high-temperature water returns to the cooling section 82 after transferring the hydrogenation reaction heat to the absorbent liquid. The absorbent liquid from which the refrigerant has been evaporated is sent to a low-temperature regenerator 64, and the evaporated refrigerant vapor is sent to a condenser 67 to be liquefied. In the triple-effect absorption chiller 62 shown in Figure 3, a heat exchanger that heats the absorbent liquid sent from the absorber 63 to the low-temperature regenerator 64 with high-temperature water from which the hydrogenation reaction heat has been transferred in the cooling section 82 of the methanation device 80 may be provided as a waste heat recovery device 91.

[0035] The fourth embodiment reduces the consumption of electricity generated by the gas turbine combined cycle power plant 50, uses hydrogen gas in the waste heat input triple-effect absorption chiller 90, and efficiently cools the second chilled water for cooling the IT equipment 10 using the waste heat from the methanation device 80. Furthermore, the fourth embodiment provides the same effects as the first embodiment.

[0036] Next, we will explain an example of mass energy balance analysis for the first embodiment shown in Figure 5. A. Assumed Conditions 1. The data center is an off-grid type that uses liquefied hydrogen as its energy source. 2. The cooling system for IT equipment such as servers is a chilled water cooling system. 3. The power consumption of IT equipment is assumed to be 40,000 kW × 0.9 = 36,000 kW, with 4,000 kW allocated to other power requirements. 4. The building cooling load (structure, incoming outside air, occupants, lighting, etc.) is covered by the heat of vaporization of liquefied hydrogen. 5. The power consumption unit of the chiller is assumed to be 0.9 kW / RT. 6. Physical properties of hydrogen: LHV; 2,600 kcal / Nm ３ , density; 0.089 kg / Nm ３ , Specific heat; 3.4 kcal / kg·℃, Latent heat of vaporization; 0 B. Design of an off-grid data center 1. Cooling load of IT equipment: 36,000 kW × 860 kcal / kW ÷ 3,024 kcal / h / RT = 10,238 RT Power consumption of IT equipment = Cooling load of IT equipment 2. Power required for chiller: (10,238 - 409) RT × 0.9 kW / RT = 8,846 kW 3. GTCC capacity: 40,000 kW + 8,846 kW = 48,848 kW 4. Hydrogen supply: 48,848 kW × 860 kcal / kW ÷ 2,600 kcal Nm ３ -H ２ = 32,314 Nm ３ -H ２ / h 5. Heat of vaporization of liquefied hydrogen: 32,314 Nm ３ / h × 0.089 kg / Nm ３×3.4 kcal / kg°C × 253°C ÷ 3,024 kcal / RT = 818 RT 6. All electricity used in the off-grid data center 1a is supplied by hydrogen gas power generation, and the heat of vaporization of liquefied hydrogen is preferentially used for the air conditioning system 30, with the surplus used for the cooling system 20. The amount of power supplied to the chiller 60, and consequently the amount of liquid hydrogen supplied to the vaporizer 40, is adjusted in accordance with the increase or decrease in the allocation of heat of vaporization to the cooling system 20.

[0037] The method for supplying power and chilled water in an off-grid data center according to the present invention can be configured by operating the system 1a or 1b for supplying power and chilled water in an off-grid data center, as described in the configuration of the first or second embodiment, as described in the operation of the first or second embodiment. This will provide the same effects and advantages as the system for supplying power and chilled water in an off-grid data center described herein.

[0038] 1a-1d: Systems for supplying electricity and chilled water in off-grid data centers; 2a-2d: Off-grid data centers; 10: IT equipment; 11: Inside the data center; 20: Cooling equipment; 21: Second chilled water; 30: Air conditioning equipment; 40: Vaporizer; 41: First chilled water; 42: Cooling chilled water; 43: Air conditioning chilled water; 47: Liquefied hydrogen supply equipment; 50, 85: Gas turbine combined cycle power plants; 53, 88: Gas turbine generators; 57: Steam turbine generators; 60: Refrigeration units; 61: Electric motors; 62: Triple-effect absorption chillers; 69: Electric pumps; 70: Flow dividers; 75: Heat exchangers; 80: Methanation units; 90: Waste heat input type triple-effect absorption chillers; 91: Waste heat recovery units; 92: Waste heat recovery regenerators

Claims

1. A system for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center comprising: a power supply device that supplies power to IT equipment located in a data center room where IT equipment is housed; a cooling device for cooling the IT equipment that generates heat by consuming power; and an air conditioning device for air conditioning the data center room, comprising: a vaporizer that exchanges heat between liquefied hydrogen supplied from a liquefied hydrogen supply device and circulating first chilled water to vaporize the liquefied hydrogen into hydrogen gas, and cools the first chilled water to a first temperature before sending it out; a gas turbine generator that rotates a gas turbine to drive a generator using combustion gas produced by the combustion of the hydrogen gas supplied from the vaporizer; and a steam turbine generator that rotates a steam turbine to drive a generator using steam produced by heating condensed water in a waste heat recovery boiler with exhaust gas discharged from the gas turbine, and condenses the exhaust steam discharged from the steam turbine into condensed water in a condenser and sends it to the waste heat recovery boiler, and supplies electricity to the IT equipment housed in the data center room, A system for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center, comprising: a chiller that cools the second chilled water circulating through the cooling device to a second temperature higher than the first temperature, and which includes a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, an evaporator, and an electric motor that drives the compressor using a portion of the electricity supplied from the gas turbine combined cycle power plant; a flow divider that divides the first chilled water, cooled to the first temperature in the vaporizer, into air conditioning chilled water of a flow rate required by the air conditioning device and the remaining flow rate of cooling chilled water, which circulates through the air conditioning device and returns to the vaporizer; and a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the second chilled water supplied from the chiller and the cooling chilled water supplied from the flow divider, cools the second chilled water to a third temperature higher than the first temperature and lower than the second temperature, sends it to the cooling device, and returns the cooling chilled water that has exchanged heat with the second chilled water to the vaporizer.

2. A system for supplying power and chilled water in an off-grid data center comprising a power supply device that supplies power to IT equipment located in a data center room where IT equipment is housed, a cooling device for cooling the IT equipment that generates heat when consuming power, and an air conditioning device for air conditioning the data center room, comprising: a vaporizer that exchanges heat between liquefied hydrogen supplied from a liquefied hydrogen supply device and circulating first chilled water to vaporize the liquefied hydrogen into hydrogen gas, and cools the first chilled water to a first temperature before sending it out; a reaction tube configured to hydrogenate the hydrogen gas supplied from the vaporizer and recovered carbon dioxide supplied from a carbon dioxide supply device into carbon neutral methane gas at a predetermined pressure and temperature using a hydrogenation reaction catalyst and send it out; and a methanation device comprising a cooling unit that transfers the reaction heat generated in the hydrogenation reaction to circulating condensed water to maintain the inside of the reaction tube at a predetermined temperature in which the hydrogenation catalyst is active, and sends out the condensed water as high-temperature water, A gas turbine combined cycle power plant that supplies power to the IT equipment housed in the data center room, comprising: a gas turbine generator that drives a generator by rotating a gas turbine with combustion gas produced by the combustion of the carbon neutral methane gas supplied from the reaction tube, or by the combustion of the carbon neutral methane gas supplied from the reaction tube and the hydrogen gas supplied separately from the vaporizer; and a steam turbine generator that drives a generator by rotating a steam turbine with steam produced by heating the high-temperature water supplied from the cooling section in a heat recovery boiler with exhaust gas discharged from the gas turbine, and condenses the exhaust steam discharged from the steam turbine into condensed water in a condenser and sends it to the cooling section; and a chiller that cools the second chilled water circulated from the cooling device to a second temperature higher than the first temperature, comprising: a gas turbine generator that drives the generator by the combustion of the carbon neutral methane gas supplied from the reaction tube, or by the combustion of the carbon neutral methane gas supplied from the reaction tube and the hydrogen gas supplied separately from the vaporizer; A flow divider divides the first chilled water, cooled to the first temperature in the vaporizer, into a flow rate of conditioned chilled water required by the air conditioning system and the remaining flow rate of cooling chilled water, which circulates through the air conditioning system and returns to the vaporizer.A system for supplying and distributing power and chilled water in an off-grid data center, comprising: a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the second chilled water supplied from the chiller and the cooling chilled water supplied from the flow divider, cools the second chilled water to a third temperature higher than the first temperature and lower than the second temperature, sends it to the cooling device, and recirculates the cooling chilled water that has exchanged heat with the second chilled water to the vaporizer.

3. A system for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center comprising a power supply device that supplies electricity to IT equipment located in a data center room where IT equipment is housed, a cooling device for cooling the IT equipment that generates heat by consuming electricity, and an air conditioning device for air conditioning the data center room, comprising: a vaporizer that exchanges heat between liquefied hydrogen supplied from a liquefied hydrogen supply device and circulating first chilled water to vaporize the liquefied hydrogen into hydrogen gas, and cools the first chilled water to a first temperature before sending it out; a gas turbine generator that rotates a gas turbine to drive a generator using combustion gas produced by the combustion of the hydrogen gas supplied from the vaporizer; and a steam turbine generator that rotates a steam turbine to drive a generator using steam produced by heating condensed water with exhaust gas discharged from the gas turbine in a waste heat recovery boiler, and condenses the exhaust steam discharged from the steam turbine into condensed water in a condenser and sends it to the waste heat recovery boiler, and supplies electricity to the IT equipment housed in the data center room, A triple-effect absorption chiller comprising a high-temperature regenerator, a medium-temperature regenerator, and a low-temperature regenerator that heat the absorbent liquid to evaporate the refrigerant; a condenser that condenses the evaporated refrigerant in a condenser; an evaporator that vaporizes the condensed refrigerant; and an absorber that absorbs the vaporized refrigerant into the absorbent liquid, wherein the high-temperature regenerator is heated by the combustion heat of the hydrogen gas supplied from the vaporizer, and the second chilled water circulating through the cooling device is cooled to a second temperature higher than the first temperature in the evaporator; and a flow divider divides the first chilled water cooled to the first temperature in the vaporizer into air conditioning chilled water of a flow rate required by the air conditioning device and cooling chilled water of the remaining flow rate, A system for supplying and distributing power and chilled water in an off-grid data center, comprising: a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the second chilled water supplied from the triple-effect absorption chiller and the cooling chilled water supplied from the flow divider, cools the second chilled water to a third temperature higher than the first temperature and lower than the second temperature, sends it to the cooling device, and recirculates the cooling chilled water, which has exchanged heat with the second chilled water, to the vaporizer.

4. A system for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center comprising a power supply device that supplies power to IT equipment located in a data center room where IT equipment is housed, a cooling device for cooling the IT equipment that generates heat by consuming power, and an air conditioning device for air conditioning the data center room, comprising: a vaporizer that exchanges heat between liquefied hydrogen supplied from a liquefied hydrogen supply device and circulating first chilled water to vaporize the liquefied hydrogen into hydrogen gas, and cools the first chilled water to a first temperature before sending it out; a reaction tube configured to hydrogenate the hydrogen gas supplied from the vaporizer and recovered carbon dioxide supplied from a carbon dioxide supply device into carbon neutral methane gas at a predetermined pressure and temperature using a hydrogenation reaction catalyst and send it out; and a methanation device comprising a cooling unit that transfers the reaction heat generated in the hydrogenation reaction to circulating condensed water to maintain the inside of the reaction tube at a predetermined temperature in which the hydrogenation catalyst is active, and sends out the condensed water as high-temperature water, A gas turbine combined cycle power plant that supplies power to the IT equipment housed in the data center room, comprising: a gas turbine generator that drives a generator by rotating a gas turbine with combustion gas produced by the combustion of carbon-neutral methane gas supplied from the reaction tube, or by the combustion of carbon-neutral methane gas supplied from the reaction tube and hydrogen gas supplied separately from the vaporizer; and a steam turbine generator that drives a generator by rotating a steam turbine with steam produced by heating the high-temperature water supplied from the cooling section of the waste heat recovery boiler with exhaust gas discharged from the gas turbine, and condensing the exhaust steam discharged from the steam turbine into condensed water in a condenser,A triple-effect absorption chiller comprising a high-temperature regenerator, a medium-temperature regenerator, a low-temperature regenerator, and a waste heat regenerator that heat an absorbent liquid to evaporate a refrigerant, a condenser that condenses the evaporated refrigerant in a condenser, an evaporator that vaporizes the condensed refrigerant, and an absorber that absorbs the vaporized refrigerant into the absorbent liquid, wherein the high-temperature regenerator is heated by the combustion heat of the hydrogen gas supplied from the vaporizer, the waste heat regenerator receives the reaction heat from the high-temperature water circulating through the cooling section of the methanation device, and the waste heat input type triple-effect absorption chiller that cools the second chilled water circulating through the cooling device to a second temperature higher than the first temperature in the evaporator, and a flow divider that divides the first chilled water cooled to the first temperature in the vaporizer into air conditioning chilled water of a flow rate required by the air conditioning device that circulates through the air conditioning device and returns to the vaporizer, and cooling chilled water of the remaining flow rate. A system for supplying and distributing power and chilled water in an off-grid data center, comprising: a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the second chilled water supplied from the waste heat input triple-effect absorption chiller and the cooling chilled water supplied from the flow divider, cools the second chilled water to a third temperature higher than the first temperature and lower than the second temperature, sends it to the cooling device, and recirculates the cooling chilled water that has exchanged heat with the second chilled water to the vaporizer.

5. A method for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center comprising a power supply device that supplies power to IT equipment located in a data center room where IT equipment is housed, a cooling device for cooling the IT equipment that generates heat by consuming electricity, and an air conditioning device for air conditioning the data center room, wherein the power is supplied to the IT equipment housed in the data center room from a gas turbine combined cycle power plant comprising A method for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center, comprising: a chiller equipped with a compressor, condenser, expansion valve, evaporator, and an electric motor that drives the compressor using a portion of the electricity supplied from the gas turbine combined cycle power plant, which cools the second chilled water circulating through the cooling system to a second temperature higher than the first temperature; a vaporizer that cools the first chilled water to the first temperature, which is then circulated through the air conditioning system and returned to the vaporizer, which is divided into air conditioning chilled water of the required flow rate and cooling chilled water of the remaining flow rate; and a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the second chilled water supplied from the chiller and the cooling chilled water supplied from the flow exchanger, which cools the second chilled water to a third temperature higher than the first temperature and lower than the second temperature, which is then sent to the cooling system and the cooling chilled water that has exchanged heat with the second chilled water is returned to the vaporizer.

6. A method for supplying electricity and chilled water in an off-grid data center comprising a power supply device that supplies power to IT equipment located in a data center room containing IT equipment, a cooling device for cooling the IT equipment that generates heat by consuming power, and an air conditioning device for air conditioning the data center room, wherein a vaporizer that exchanges heat between liquefied hydrogen supplied from a liquefied hydrogen supply device and circulating first chilled water to vaporize the liquefied hydrogen into hydrogen gas, cools the first chilled water to a first temperature and sends it out, a reaction tube configured to hydrogenate the hydrogen gas supplied from the vaporizer and recovered carbon dioxide supplied from a carbon dioxide supply device into carbon neutral methane gas at a predetermined pressure and temperature using a hydrogenation reaction catalyst, and a cooling unit that transfers the reaction heat generated in the hydrogenation reaction to circulating cooling water to maintain the inside of the reaction tube at a predetermined temperature in which the hydrogenation catalyst is active, and sends out the carbon neutral methane gas from a methanation device. A gas turbine combined cycle power plant is provided to supply power to the IT equipment housed in the data center room. This power plant includes a gas turbine generator that rotates a gas turbine to drive a generator using combustion gas produced by the combustion of carbon-neutral methane gas supplied from the methanation device, and a steam turbine generator that rotates a steam turbine to drive a generator using steam generated by heating condensed water with exhaust gas discharged from the gas turbine in a heat recovery boiler, and condenses the exhaust steam discharged from the steam turbine into condensed water in a condenser and sends it to the heat recovery boiler. In a waste heat input type triple-effect absorption chiller comprising a high-temperature regenerator, a medium-temperature regenerator, a low-temperature regenerator, and a waste heat regenerator for heating an absorbent liquid to evaporate a refrigerant, a condenser for condensing the evaporated refrigerant in a condenser, an evaporator for vaporizing the condensed refrigerant, and an absorber for absorbing the vaporized refrigerant into the absorbent liquid, the high-temperature regenerator is heated by the combustion heat of the hydrogen gas supplied from the vaporizer, the reaction heat is transferred to the waste heat regenerator from the high-temperature water circulating through the cooling section of the methanation device, and the second chilled water circulating through the cooling device is cooled to a second temperature higher than the first temperature in the evaporator.A method for supplying and distributing power and chilled water in an off-grid data center, comprising: first chilled water cooled to the first temperature in the vaporizer is circulated through the air conditioning system by a flow divider and returned to the vaporizer, and the air conditioning system divides the flow into the required flow rate of conditioned chilled water and the remaining flow rate of cooling chilled water; and a heat exchanger is used to exchange heat between the second chilled water supplied from the waste heat input type triple-effect absorption chiller and the cooling chilled water supplied from the flow divider, thereby cooling the second chilled water to a third temperature higher than the first temperature and lower than the second temperature, and sending it to the cooling system, where the cooling chilled water that has exchanged heat with the second chilled water is circulated back to the vaporizer.

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