Technical and Economic Feasibility Study of Fuel Cell Based Alternative Power Supply for Ethio Telecom Hubsites
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2025-11
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Addis Ababa University
Abstract
For modern data centers, where even short outages can cause major financial losses and service interruptions, it is imperative to ensure dependable and sustainable backup power. With an emphasis on replacing the current 1500 KVA diesel generator, this thesis examines the technical and financial viability of using fuel cell technology as an alternate backup system for Ethio Telecom's data center. A comparative evaluation is conducted using ETAP software for reliability analysis, MATLAB for fuel cell design modeling, and economic metrics (LCC, NPV and ROI) based on CAPEX and OPEX considerations. The study evaluated the reliability and technical performance of integrating fuel cell technologies into a Telecom data center system. Three distinct fuel cell types Alkaline Fuel Cell, Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell, and Solid Oxide Fuel Cell were modeled under various operating conditions, both with and without boost converters. The analysis focused on comparing their efficiency, voltage stability, and scalability to determine the most suitable option for data center applications. Although each technology demonstrated unique advantages, the SOFC emerged as the most promising solution due to its superior overall technical performance and adaptability. Despite its relatively high initial capital cost, its long term operational advantages were considered significant for sustainable infrastructure development. The results and findings revealed that the existing diesel generator-based system produced a SAIDI of 10.422 hours/customer-year and a SAIFI of 1.293 f/customer-year. With the integration of the SOFC backup system, these values decreased to 4.0320 and 0.2670, respectively, indicating a substantial improvement in service reliability and reduction in outage frequency and duration. Economically, the SOFC demonstrated strong feasibility, achieving annual savings of $158,853.08, a net present value (NPV) of $30,500, a payback period (PBP) of 5 years, and a return on investment (ROI) of 10%. These findings confirm that implementing SOFC as a backup system for Ethio Telecom’s data center is both technically viable andfinancially advantageous, offering enhanced sustainability, operational efficiency, and system reliability compared to conventional diesel generators.
Description
Keywords
Generator, Solid Oxide Fuel Cell, Ethio Telecom, Microwave Data center, Green Power