Data Center Generator Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends & Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

The Data Center Generator Market size is expected to grow from USD 4.98 billion in 2023 to USD 6.46 billion by 2028, at a CAGR of 5.35% during the forecast period (2023-2028).

Data centers are at significant risk of experiencing operational losses owing to power outages caused by utility grid failures, rolling blackouts, bad weather, natural or artificial calamities, or electrical breakdown. Systems and components used in data centers are expected to operate nonstop. They require dependable, uninterrupted power seven days a week, creating a demand for the Data Center Generator Market.

Key Highlights

• Due to developments in generator technology, natural gas generators are a desired solution to supply continuous power and get closer to corporate sustainability targets. Additionally, these fuels are abundantly available and more economical than diesel. Renewable natural gas is still another low-emission option that is more environmentally responsible because it may be continuously obtained from waste, livestock operations, and wastewater treatment facilities, which will drive the adoption of gas generators in the future.
• The majority of data center operators prefer diesel generators as the primary and most widely used option for backup energy for critical systems due to the requirement that an emergency power supply system (EPSS) operate for 120 minutes or longer (typically requiring onsite fuel storage), which is creating a demand for the Data Center generator market worldwide.
• Many colocation service providers have raised data center production due to the growing demand for edge data centers worldwide. For example, in October last year, Amazon applied for an emission license with Ireland's Environmental Protection Agency to build 105 diesel generators at its new Dublin data center facility.
• The rising power cost is predicted to hurt the market. Accelerating the trend of utilizing fuel cells as a power backup due to the enormous costs of generators might also cause restraint in the market growth. Additionally, the future of diesel as a backup power source for data centers appears to be one of tighter usage restrictions, more stringent tax policies, permitting, lower emissions targets, better air quality requirements, and noise laws, which could be a challenge for the market growth due to the significant market share of diesel-based generators.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has spotted the importance of data centers and cloud computing. During the early phases of the crisis, the data center industry served as the safety net for the global economy, which significantly increased the adoption of online services by businesses. Thus, with an increase of Data Centers, the demand for DC generators has increased due to their importance in continuous power supply to the DCs.

Data Center Generator Market Trends

Diesel type of Generators is Dominating the Market

• Diesel generators are the data centers' most common type of backup power. The use of diesel generators is widespread in data centers and other critical facilities as they have a well-understood maintenance record, and it is easy to find repair experts. Customer satisfaction for data center customers is relatively high because of the company's diesel generators' time-tested capacity to achieve 100% load acceptance with superior controls.
• IT service companies around the globe are adopting cloud strategy in their business and transforming their services to be hosted in the cloud. This transformation is driving the Datacentre market and indirectly fuelling the diesel generator for DCs, because of its suitability in Tier 4 DCs, which are required by large enterprises with mission-critical servers that must be operated continuously.
• Many countries worldwide are developing DCs to increase their cloud infrastructures. For instance, Thailand's mobile data service sector has witnessed rapid growth in recent years. At the core of this industry is Advanced Info Service (AIS), the prominent mobile operator in Thailand. As the country's mobile operator, AIS is committed to providing uninterrupted service to its customers, even during a utility outage. An AIS subsidiary, Fax Lite Co. Ltd. owns the Tellus Data Center, which houses AIS' mobile switching facilities. This data center was designed to comply with Tier 3 requirements to ensure minimal planned and unplanned downtime.
• To support the high availability requirements, Fax Lite Co. Ltd needed to implement reliable standby power to ensure uninterrupted critical load during an outage. Fax Lite Co. Ltd. considered various vendors based on the following criteria: cost competitiveness, product reliability, and excellent customer support.
• Cummins was selected as the vendor of choice based on its capabilities in designing, integrating, and commissioning dependable power systems. AIS purchased 12 units of Cummins generator sets for mobile-switching facilities. Cummins supplied 12 MW of standby power with eight teams of diesel-powered generator sets C1675 D5A, integrated with a PowerCommand 3.3 control system and two units of PowerCommand Digital Master Control (DMC) 1000.

Asia Pacific is Registering a Significant Market Growth

• The increasing investments by global and regional facility operators and the rising adoption of public cloud and hybrid cloud services are the primary factors attributing to the growth of the Data Center Generator Market in the APAC region.
• AWS, Google, Baidu, Alibaba, Microsoft, and Apple are the largest investors in the APAC market. The deployment of edge computing locations across many nations, particularly India and China, will support APAC's growth during the forecast period.
• The presence of influential companies, such as Caterpillar Inc. and Cummins, Inc., has positively influenced the regional market's growth. Determinants, such as advanced technology advancement and information about the same, are also anticipated to influence the market positively.
• The region is witnessing progress in the investment menus in building green DCs in the region, which would create a demand for renewable source generators such as hydrogen fuel generators for Data centers in the region. For instance, in August last year, the first green data center builder in Asia, Empyrion DC, announced the construction of a 40MW green data center in Gangnam, Seoul, South Korea. Intending to invest up to USD 400 million in the region, Empyrion DC and a local promoter entered into a legally binding agreement to buy 100% of the development rights.
• Additionally, Equinix, a DC infra company, is considering using hydrogen as a green fuel source in the company's data centers in Singapore. The company would use Proton-exchange membrane fuel cells and fuel-flexible linear generator technologies with the collaboration of the Centre for Energy Research & Technology to create sustainable electricity sources for the generators that supply emergency power during utility outages is a crucial component of that transformation in Singapore, which would drive the DC generator market in the region.

Data Center Generator Industry Overview

Data Center Generator Market is dominated by a small number of major players and is highly consolidated. Companies make an effort to modify their product lines to reflect improvements in quality and technological advancements, such as intelligent digital controls and bi-fuel technology in generators. Caterpillar Inc., Cummins Inc., Generac Holdings Inc., Kinolt (Euro-Diesel SA), and Hitec Power Protection BV are some of the top businesses in the sector. These large companies, which account for a sizeable portion of the market, are focusing on expanding their clientele abroad. To enhance their market share and profitability, these companies are collaborating strategically.

• November 2022 - Kohler Power Systems officially opened an advanced production expansion to its present North American generator manufacturing location in Wisconsin, United States. The manufacturing increase would help Kohler expand in critical strategic industries like data centers.
• October 2022 - Belgian data center company LCL has used hydrotreated vegetable oil to replace diesel in its backup generators. The business announced that LCL Brussels-West in Aalst, where it just invested in 6 new 2.25 MVA generators, would be the first location to use biodiesel. The plant has eight backup generators, including two 1MW older types and six new HVO generators. This fuel transformation from diesel to other renewable sources allows DC generator manufacturers to develop advanced products.
• June 2022 - Microsoft would integrate a microgrid at a new data center in San Jose, California, which would run its emergency backup generators on renewable natural gas rather than diesel fuel. The project would enable Microsoft to eliminate diesel fuel from its data center operations by 2030. This initiative improves the resilience of its data center, moves Microsoft closer to ending its reliance on petroleum-based diesel, and creates an opportunity for natural gas-based generators in the market.

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