Huizhou Greater Bay Area Computing Center Deploys 8 Sets of MTU 4000 High-Voltage Container Generator Sets to Build a High-Standard Emergency Power Supply System for Computing Infrastructure

Recently, the power supporting project of China Mobile Greater Bay Area (Huizhou) Computing Center Phase I passed the joint acceptance of all generator sets and was officially put into operation. The project adopted 8 sets of 10.5kV high-voltage container generator sets equipped with MTU 20V400020V4000G14F series diesel engines, each with a rated power of 2,500kW, delivering a total standby capacity of 20MW. The equipment establishes a full 2N redundant emergency power supply system for tens of thousands of AI computing cabinets in the park. As a key digital new infrastructure project in the Greater Bay Area, the mass deployment of high-power MTU generator sets sets a benchmark for standardized and highly reliable power supply solutions for high-density computing rooms in South China, and serves as a model project for communication operators in Guangdong Province adopting MTU power equipment.

Project Background: High-Density Computing Puts Forward Strict Power Supply Standards

The computing center is planned to hold more than 4,500 service cabinets, carrying high-level businesses including large model training, cloud rendering, financial cloud and government big data, with an overall computing capacity exceeding 8,4000 PFLOPS. It operates 7×24 hours all year round, requiring the power supply availability of the computer room to reach 99.995%. Located on the coastal area of South China, Huizhou features hot and humid summers, frequent thunderstorms and typhoons. From June to September every year, the regional power grid maintains a high load, accompanied by frequent line maintenance, instantaneous voltage drops and short-term power outages.

Once an external power failure occurs, server clusters, liquid cooling refrigeration equipment, security and fire protection systems will shut down simultaneously, directly causing interruptions to computing tasks, loss of core data and huge economic losses. Traditional small and medium-sized standby generator sets suffer from slow startup response, poor stability during parallel operation, power attenuation under high temperature and frequent maintenance, failing to meet the operation demands of high-density computing rooms.

During the project bidding stage, the developer set multiple rigid technical thresholds: the generator sets shall reach full load output within 10 seconds, withstand ambient temperatures ranging from -20℃ to 55℃, support undisturbed synchronous parallel operation of multiple units, be equipped with complete black start capacity, be compatible with renewable fuel and have a major overhaul interval of no less than 30,000 operating hours, along with integrated noise reduction and tail gas purification devices. After multiple rounds of technical scheme evaluation, full-load prototype testing and high-temperature simulated working condition verification, MTU 4000 series dedicated power generation engines won the bid for all power supporting equipment of this project, thanks to their stable transient load performance, wide working condition adaptability and ultra-long maintenance cycle.

Core Performance of MTU Generator Sets to Meet Zero-Downtime Requirements of Computing Rooms

The selected MTU 20V4000 power generation model is a mainstream high-power power product for high-end critical infrastructure. Relying on the electronic control common rail fuel system and high-precision speed and voltage regulation modules, it perfectly matches the load characteristics of computing rooms.

First, rapid switching seamlessly connects UPS to realize zero power supply interruption. After receiving the mains power failure signal, the generator set completes speed rise and voltage stabilization within 8 seconds, and outputs stable full-load power in 10 seconds, seamlessly connecting with the UPS uninterruptible power supply of the computer room. The fluctuation of voltage and frequency is controlled within a tiny range, avoiding instantaneous power drop of servers and offline storage devices. The 8 units operate in two independent parallel groups with automatic and balanced load distribution, and the distribution error is controlled within ±1%, without unit overload or load competition.

Second, adaptable to hot, humid and rainy coastal climate with no power attenuation under full load at high temperatures. The factory optimizes the cooling system and air intake dust-proof assembly. Even under continuous full-load operation at the extreme ambient temperature of 55℃ in summer, the water temperature, oil temperature and exhaust temperature remain within the standard range without power reduction. The complete machine is equipped with a fully sealed IP55 protection container, rain-proof, moisture-proof and salt spray resistant, so electrical and high-voltage components are not prone to damp damage in rainy and humid coastal environments.

Third, long-cycle maintenance design greatly reduces the operating cost of the computer room. The factory-calibrated major overhaul running time of the model reaches 30,000 hours, and the replacement cycle of engine oil and filter elements can reach 1,000 hours. Compared with equivalent imported power equipment, the annual maintenance workload is reduced by nearly 40%. Spacious maintenance passages are reserved inside the container, and the engine, generator and electronic control units are arranged in separate zones. Daily inspections and component replacement can be completed without disassembling the whole machine, which greatly shortens the time for a single maintenance and adapts to the all-year non-stop operation rhythm of the computer room.

Fourth, compatible with low-carbon fuels to match the green computing construction goals. Without modifying the hardware structure, the complete unit can directly use 100% HVO hydrogenated vegetable oil sustainable fuel, which greatly reduces carbon emissions compared with traditional diesel, conforming to the park’s green and low-carbon construction indicators. The generator set is equipped with an SCR denitrification post-processing device, and the tail gas emission meets both China’s National IV standard for non-road mobile machinery and EU Stage V standard. No separate large tail gas treatment plant needs to be built, saving civil construction investment.

Fifth, fully intelligent remote operation and maintenance reduces on-site duty pressure. The complete power supply system is equipped with an integrated intelligent parallel and ATS switching control system, supporting automatic switching-off and shutdown after mains power recovery as well as automatic disconnection and isolation of faulty units. A cloud remote monitoring platform is matched to collect dozens of operating data such as voltage, current, oil pressure, water temperature, running hours and fault codes in real time, supporting remote early warning and periodic automatic self-test via mobile phones and computers. Operation and maintenance staff do not need to be on duty all day, and can predict component loss in advance to realize predictive maintenance. Meanwhile, the equipment has a built-in black start function, which can independently start to build an independent microgrid when the external power grid is completely paralyzed, ensuring continuous operation of fire protection, emergency lighting and communication base stations.