Bridge Data Centres (BDC) and renewable fuels firm EcoCeres have completed their first Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO)-powered backup fuel pilot at BDC's data center campuses across the Asia Pacific region.

The companies deployed HVO, which is a lower-carbon fuel source derived from 100 percent waste-based feedstock. The fuel acts as a drop-in substitute for conventional diesel, with many diesel generators able to support the fuel without any major modifications.

According to the companies, the pilot covered the full range of emergency backup scenarios. These included generator startup, load transfer, and sustained operations under data center conditions. Following the pilot, the companies reported that the fuel was able to meet all performance and emissions requirements. The pilot was completed across a range of facilities within BDC’s portfolio.

Eric Fan, CEO of BDC, said: "Sustainability is core to BDC's strategy. As AI workloads continue to scale across the region, we are committed to advancing innovative clean energy solutions that reduce our carbon footprint while meeting the performance and reliability requirements of our hyperscale customers. The success of our inaugural pilot in Asia Pacific demonstrates that HVO-powered backup fuel is a feasible and replicable concept for other high-growth data center markets."

Following the successful pilot, BDC intends to deploy HVO-powered solutions across its Asia Pacific data center campuses and beyond. The two companies will now collaborate to develop common standards and practical guidelines to support broader industry uptake.

"Decarbonizing data centers is one of the most urgent and technically demanding challenges in the net-zero transition, and we are proud to partner with Bridge Data Centers to demonstrate that HVO is ready to perform at scale in real-world operations. By proving that waste-based renewable fuels can meet stringent reliability and performance requirements in existing diesel backup systems, this pilot offers a practical way for operators to significantly reduce emissions while maintaining the highest standards of reliability," added Matti Lievonen, CEO of EcoCeres.

The partnership forms part of BDC's wider clean energy push, which also includes developing Singapore's first floating hydrogen power generation solution for AI data centers.

Singapore-based Bridge lists five data centers in operation or in planning in Malaysia, two in Thailand, and one in India. The company claims to be targeting 3GW of capacity by 2030.