On August 18, 2026, DayOne Data Centers secured a S$530 million (US$415 million) green loan from DBS, OCBC, and UOB to build a 20-megawatt data centre in western Singapore. The facility, which broke ground in July 2025, is targeting commercial operations in the first quarter of 2027 and will pilot a solid oxide fuel cell system to generate on-site power from hydrogen.
The loan, structured under the Green Loan Principles, marks the first time a Singapore data centre has attempted to run on hydrogen fuel cells — a technology that remains unproven at scale but is being pushed by the city-state’s new green data centre rules.
A 0.3-megawatt solid oxide fuel cell is not enough to power a data centre. But it is enough to test whether hydrogen can do the job in a city that has no room for error.
DayOne’s new facility in western Singapore will draw 20 megawatts of grid power. The hydrogen pilot, representing just 1.5% of that load, is a proof-of-concept for on-site generation, not a replacement for the mains. In a market where land is scarce and grid capacity is tight, the experiment tests whether data centres can generate their own clean power. The real question is whether the technology can scale beyond a press release.
The three banks that financed the project are betting the pilot will work, but the gap between ambition and proven technology remains wide.
Whether hydrogen can deliver the answer is what the 0.3-megawatt stack must now prove.
A 0.3-megawatt bet on hydrogen
DayOne’s SG1 facility, which broke ground in July 2025, will house a 20-megawatt IT load. The hydrogen pilot is a 0.3-megawatt solid oxide fuel cell system, designed to test whether the technology can supply continuous, low-emission power in a tropical climate. DayOne’s chief executive, Jamie Khoo, has said the company aims to accelerate adoption of innovative green solutions for data centres, enhance diversification of energy sources for the data centre industry, and support the city-state’s sustainability goals. The pilot’s size is modest, but the ambition is not: if the SOFC works, it could open a path to reducing reliance on the grid for future data halls.
Singapore’s Green Data Centre Roadmap, released by the Infocomm Media Development Authority, requires new capacity awarded under the second Data Centre Call for Application to source at least 50% of power from eligible green pathways. The list includes low-carbon hydrogen, novel fuel cells, and vertical building-integrated photovoltaics. DayOne’s facility will also incorporate vertical solar panels and a combination of air and liquid cooling, but the fuel cell is the centrepiece — and the least proven. The loan, arranged by DBS, OCBC, and UOB as joint mandated lead arrangers and green loan coordinators, is structured under the Green Loan Principles, a framework that ties financing to environmental performance.
The components that turn hydrogen into usable power for a data centre are mapped below.
DBS’s group head of institutional banking, Han Kwee Juan, has emphasized that rapidly growing demand for AI and cloud computing makes energy efficiency a core criterion for financing. OCBC’s head of global corporate banking, Elaine Lam, has noted that innovative power and cooling solutions will be increasingly important for staying within Singapore’s grid and emissions constraints. The banks’ involvement signals that green lending is moving from solar farms to inside the data hall.
But the pilot’s limits are clear. The 0.3-megawatt system will supply just 1.5% of the facility’s total load — a fraction that leaves the real test of scaling hydrogen for the industry’s power appetite still ahead. The project does not yet disclose a hydrogen supply contract, leaving the fuel source an open question. If the SOFC system works as advertised, the next fight will be over hydrogen supply chains, not just fuel cells.
Why Singapore is betting data centres on decarbonisation
DayOne’s pilot is not an isolated experiment. Singapore’s Decarbonisation Grand Challenge, announced in March 2026, is pouring S$800 million into low-carbon power technologies, including hydrogen and novel fuel cells. The government’s green data centre roadmap is effectively forcing operators to link new capacity to decarbonisation pilots, treating precious data centre slots as testbeds for the wider power system. This is a deliberate strategy: if you want a footprint in the region’s premier hub, you must buy into its experimental power mix.
The solid oxide fuel cell market is still nascent. Industry analysts estimate that newly installed SOFC capacity for data centres reached roughly 50 megawatts globally in 2025, with an average system price near US$2,800 per kilowatt. The broader SOFC market could grow from US$3 billion in 2025 to more than US$11.6 billion by 2030, with data centres the fastest-growing segment. Leaders include Bloom Energy, which has signed multi-gigawatt deals with US utilities, and several Asian manufacturers. DayOne’s 0.3-megawatt pilot is a drop in this global bucket, but in Singapore’s tightly controlled market, it carries disproportionate weight.
Microsoft’s partnership with Bloom Energy to deploy SOFCs at US data centres offers a parallel, but the comparison is imperfect. Those projects run on natural gas or biogas and focus on resilient backup power in sprawling campuses. DayOne’s pilot is smaller, hydrogen-focused, and must operate within Singapore’s tighter grid, land, and carbon constraints. For Western equipment suppliers, that means future contracts here will reward technologies that can meet both uptime and decarbonisation goals, not just the lowest cost per megawatt.
If the facility goes live near the target of early 2027, it will signal that construction, grid integration, and initial hydrogen systems stayed on track. A material delay would raise questions about regulatory approvals, equipment integration, or cost pressures. The next round of Singapore’s data centre tender bids will show whether DayOne’s pilot moved the conversation from proof-of-concept to procurement requirement.
Beyond the headline
The Bigger Picture
DayOne’s hydrogen-ready data centre is part of a broader shift in which regulators are tying new digital capacity directly to decarbonisation experiments. Rather than treating green power as an optional add-on, Singapore is using scarce data centre slots to force-test technologies like fuel cells, vertical solar, and advanced cooling at commercial scale. This changes data centres from passive grid users into active testbeds for the wider low-carbon power system.
The Timing
The loan lands just as Singapore’s second data centre Call for Application and its Green Data Centre Roadmap push operators to lock in green energy pathways for the next wave of AI infrastructure. Securing finance now lets DayOne design hydrogen and SOFC systems into the facility from the outset, rather than retrofitting later under tighter rules. For competitors who delay, future tenders may require even more ambitious, and costly, low-carbon commitments.
The Reach
One key actor here is the Singapore government, which is using green loan-friendly rules and limited capacity allocations to steer global cloud and AI players toward low-carbon infrastructure. The mechanism is simple: if you want a footprint in the region’s premier hub, you must buy into its experimental power mix. For Western equipment suppliers, that means future contracts are likely to reward technologies that can meet both uptime and decarbonisation constraints, not just cost per megawatt.
What the pilot means for four distinct audiences
With Singapore’s Green Data Centre Roadmap setting a 50% green energy requirement for new capacity, the project now faces four distinct audiences with questions.
- Western Data Centre Technology Supplier
You need to assess the technical specifications of the solid oxide fuel cell and cooling systems used in this project. The pilot’s performance data, once available, will reveal whether similar systems can be tailored for Singapore’s tropical climate and tight space constraints. Monitor DayOne’s contractor disclosures and the equipment supplier’s integration milestones.
- US-based Investor in Green Digital Infrastructure
Analyze the loan structure — a four-year facility under the Green Loan Principles — and the project’s energy efficiency claims to gauge the financial viability of hydrogen-powered data centres. The pilot’s cost per megawatt-hour and its impact on the facility’s overall power usage effectiveness will be critical metrics. Track the project’s operational date and any subsequent green financing rounds.
- European Cloud Service Provider with APAC Operations
Track the performance and regulatory implications of this hydrogen-powered data centre. The Green Data Centre Roadmap’s requirement for 50% green energy could become a benchmark for your own future facilities in Singapore. Adapt your infrastructure development plans to include hydrogen-ready designs, and monitor the IMDA’s updates for any changes to the green pathway list.
- Western Policy Analyst for Sustainable Infrastructure
Study Singapore’s policy framework, including the S$800 million Decarbonisation Grand Challenge and the Green Data Centre Roadmap, to draw lessons for other nations. The pilot is a real-world test of whether a fuel cell can decarbonise a data centre in a land-constrained city. The results will inform whether similar mandates can be replicated in places like Hong Kong, Tokyo, or Dublin.
Explainer
- Solid oxide fuel cell
- A solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) generates electricity by electrochemically reacting a fuel with oxygen across a ceramic membrane at high temperatures. It produces no combustion and can run on hydrogen, natural gas, or biogas, with high efficiency and low local emissions. In data centres, it is being tested as a low-carbon alternative to diesel generators and grid power, but it requires careful fuel supply and safety engineering.
- Green Loan Principles
- The Green Loan Principles are an international framework developed by the Loan Market Association and other bodies to guide environmentally sustainable lending. They require that loan proceeds be used exclusively for green projects, with transparent management and reporting. DayOne’s S$530 million loan was structured under these principles, tying the financing to the facility’s environmental performance.
- Green Data Centre Roadmap
- Singapore’s Green Data Centre Roadmap, issued by the Infocomm Media Development Authority, sets sustainability requirements for new data centre capacity. It mandates that at least 50% of power for new facilities come from eligible green pathways, including low-carbon hydrogen, novel fuel cells, and vertical solar. The roadmap is designed to channel the city-state’s limited data centre slots toward decarbonisation pilots.
- Decarbonisation Grand Challenge
- The Decarbonisation Grand Challenge, announced in March 2026, is a S$800 million Singaporean government programme to fund research and innovation in low-carbon technologies for the power and industrial sectors. It covers solar, hydrogen, energy efficiency, storage, and grid modernisation, and includes a pilot programme to move promising solutions toward deployment. The challenge is part of Singapore’s broader effort to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
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