EcoCeres, GDS launch 1st HVO-powered data-center backup pilot in China

EcoCeres Inc., a leading pure-play renewable fuels producer, has launched a pilot with GDS Holdings Ltd., a leading developer and operator of high-performance data centers in China, to use hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), also known as renewable diesel, as a low-carbon replacement for conventional diesel in data-center backup power.

The partnership marks one of the first applications of HVO in China’s internet data-center (IDC) sector and showcases a full circular-economy model from waste collection to low-carbon power.

As part of the pilot, EcoCeres has supplied HVO to a GDS data center in North China, where it is used as a direct, drop-in replacement for diesel in the sites’ backup generators. 

EcoCeres’ waste-based HVO has a lifecycle greenhouse-gas emissions footprint that can be up to around 90 percent lower than traditional fossil diesel.

By using this low-carbon fuel in place of conventional diesel in backup generators, the collaboration illustrates how circular-economy thinking can be applied to the fast growing data-center sector: Used cooking oil that would otherwise be treated as waste is upgraded into low-carbon fuel to power digital infrastructure.

“Partnering with GDS shows how HVO can help decarbonize mission-critical infrastructure without compromising reliability,” said Matti Lievonen, CEO of EcoCeres. “By turning used cooking oil into renewable backup power for GDS, we are putting the circular-economy concept into practice and proving how HVO can empower low-carbon computing power and enable a greener future. This pilot is an important first step towards large-scale adoption of waste-based HVO in China’s rapidly growing IDC sector.”

The cooperation with GDS aligns with EcoCeres’ strategy to cut emissions in hard to abate, high-reliability sectors such as data centers, aviation, logistics and heavy transport using waste-based renewable fuels including HVO and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

The project validates the feasibility of using waste-derived, drop-in HVO to effectively reduce scope 1 emissions amid rapid data-center expansion.

Looking ahead, EcoCeres sees strong potential to extend this model to other leading IDC operators in China and across the region, creating opportunities for longer-term offtakes, broader site coverage and deeper scope 1 and scope 3 emissions partnerships with end customers.