Presentation 1 · Process Systems, LLC & Dylan Energy CHP
Co-Generation Power and Cooling for AI/Data Center
A strategic and technical overview of the Combined Cooling, Heating, and Power (CCHP) platform — engineered for next-generation AI infrastructure.
Executive Overview and Strategic Context
Why Integrated Power and Cooling Is a Board-Level Priority
AI data centers face critical limits from separate power and cooling systems — causing inefficiencies, high costs, and infrastructure bottlenecks. As compute density continues to rise, the need for a unified energy architecture has become a strategic imperative, not just an engineering preference.
Challenges in Data Center Power and Cooling
Separate power and cooling systems create inefficiencies and high costs that scale with AI workload growth. Conventional approaches cannot keep pace with rising power density.
Integrated CCHP System Benefits
The Combined Cooling, Heat, and Power system unifies power and cooling into a single cascading energy flow, optimizing fuel use and dramatically reducing waste.
Executive Strategic Value
Integrated systems improve efficiency to 70–85%, lower emissions, and enable modular deployment for faster market readiness and lower capital risk.
System Architecture and Energy Flow
The radiation-integrated CCHP platform replaces three separate systems — power generation, backup generation, and mechanical cooling — with a single unified cascading energy architecture. Each stage of the energy flow feeds the next, eliminating waste at every step.
Radiation-Dominant Steam Generation
High-temperature combustion optimizes radiant heat transfer, enhancing efficiency far beyond conventional convection-only methods.
Steam Turbine Power Conversion
Steam at 120 psig and 350°F drives an industrial turbine converting 20–25% of thermal energy to electrical power using proven, commercially available equipment.
Absorption Chiller Cooling Cycle
Turbine exhaust steam powers an absorption chiller, producing chilled water for data center cooling — turning waste heat into high-value cooling capacity.
Unified Cascading Energy System
Integrated design replaces separate assets, enabling simplified control, optimization, and minimal energy waste across the entire system.
Radiation-Integrated Steam Generation
Why Radiation-Dominant Heat Transfer Changes the Economics
At high combustion temperatures, radiation heat transfer scales with the fourth power of absolute temperature (Stefan–Boltzmann T⁴ law). This means small increases in flame and refractory temperature produce dramatically larger increases in heat flux — fundamentally changing the economics of steam generation.
This represents a fundamental shift in heat transfer physics application — delivering major performance and economic gains that convection-only designs simply cannot match.
Key Economic Impact
Steam Turbine Power Generation
The platform uses commercially available steam turbines without modification — ensuring reliable, proven technology with established supply chains and service networks. No exotic equipment, no proprietary lock-in.
Standard Steam Conditions
Steam meets typical inlet requirements around 120 psig and 350°F saturated conditions for mid-megawatt applications — compatible with off-the-shelf industrial turbines.
Lower Cost and Emissions
The innovative steam generation method reduces fuel input, cost, and emissions compared to traditional boilers — without sacrificing turbine compatibility.
Energy Efficiency and Recovery
Approximately 22% of thermal input converts to electricity, with exhaust steam suitable for downstream thermal recovery in the absorption cooling stage.
Absorption Cooling Integration
Turning Turbine Exhaust into High-Value Cooling
Rather than discarding turbine exhaust steam as waste heat, the CCHP platform routes it directly into an absorption chiller. This converts what would otherwise be lost energy into approximately 700 tons of cooling per 1 MW module — at a coefficient of performance (COP) of around 0.7.
For AI data centers, this is transformative: cooling capacity scales directly with power output, eliminating the need for separate electrical chillers and reducing peak electrical demand charges.
1 MW Module — Cooling Performance
Performance Metrics by Deployment Size
The modular architecture allows deployment at any scale — from a 1 MW pilot validating the technology to a 100 MW campus installation. Each module is independently operable, enabling incremental capacity growth aligned with capital expenditure cycles.
Module Performance Summary
| Module | Thermal Input | Cooling | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 MW | 15.5 MMBtu/hr | 700 tons | Pilot / edge data centers |
| 5 MW | 75–80 MMBtu/hr | 3,500 tons | Early commercial projects |
| 10 MW | ~155 MMBtu/hr | 7,000 tons | Commercial / campus |
| 100 MW | Replicated modules | 70,000 tons | Large campus deployments |
Efficiency Comparison
Why Total Efficiency Matters More Than Electrical Efficiency Alone
Conventional power systems — diesel generators, gas turbines — are typically evaluated on electrical efficiency alone (30–40%). This metric ignores the enormous amount of energy discarded as waste heat. The CCHP platform captures that waste heat and converts it into useful cooling, achieving 70–85% total system efficiency.
Impact on Costs and Emissions
Higher total efficiency reduces fuel consumption, lowers operating costs, and cuts emissions — supporting both financial and sustainability goals.
Strategic Advantage of Holistic Efficiency
Boards focused on competitiveness should prioritize total efficiency as a more accurate measure of system value than electrical efficiency alone.
Economic Impact
The economic case for the CCHP platform is compelling across multiple dimensions — fuel savings, eliminated electrical cooling demand, reduced capital duplication, and a 3–6 year payback period.
Fuel Consumption Reduction
Radiation-based steam generation cuts fuel use by up to 60% compared to convection-only systems — the single largest operating cost driver.
Absorption Cooling Benefits
Absorption cooling eliminates electrical demand from vapor-compression chillers, lowering energy costs and peak demand charges.
Integrated System Advantages
Combining power, backup, and cooling systems reduces capital duplication and lowers overall investment costs versus separate systems.
Financial Impact and ROI
The system offers payback in 3 to 6 years and improves long-term operating margins and cost stability for data center operators.
Data Center Applications
Meeting AI Data Center Power and Cooling Demand Simultaneously
AI data centers present a unique challenge: power and cooling demands rise simultaneously and in direct proportion to each other. The CCHP platform is purpose-built for this relationship — a single fuel input supplies both power and cooling, with cooling capacity automatically scaling with power output.
Parallel Power and Cooling Demand
AI workloads drive rising power and cooling needs that increase simultaneously — making integrated solutions far more efficient than separate systems.
Operational Advantages
On-site modular units avoid grid delays, reduce emergency generator reliance, and improve thermal management control for mission-critical operations.
Enhanced Resilience and Scalability
Chilled water from recovered heat links cooling capacity to power production, creating a self-reinforcing system with higher resilience and scalability.
Deployment Strategy
The phased deployment strategy is designed to mitigate technical and financial risk while preserving optionality at each stage. Capital expenditure aligns with validated performance, and each phase builds on the data and confidence generated by the previous one.
Validates system integration and performance under real conditions. Provides crucial operational data and stakeholder confidence before larger commitments.
Expands deployment targeting facilities with immediate power and cooling needs. Leverages pilot learnings to accelerate commissioning.
Scales modular installations to full campus deployments, aligning capital expenditure with growth and enabling large-scale efficiency gains.
Conclusion and Recommendations
The radiation-integrated CCHP platform represents a fundamental advancement in data center energy infrastructure — combining proven industrial technologies in a novel cascading architecture that doubles total system efficiency while reducing fuel consumption, emissions, and capital costs.
Innovative Energy Integration
Combining radiation steam generation with industrial turbines and absorption cooling doubles total system efficiency versus conventional approaches.
Operational and Environmental Benefits
Higher efficiency reduces fuel consumption, operating costs, and emissions for sustainable, cost-competitive infrastructure.
Strategic Alignment with AI Needs
Platform supports high power density, large cooling demands, and rapid scalability critical for AI workloads at any scale.
Recommended Next Steps