Heat Reuse Platform

1. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦: 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐩 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞

European data centres consume ~100 TWh of electricity every year* – and a large portion of that energy leaves the building as unused heat.

At the same time, district heating and cooling covers around 13% of the heat market and that 80 million EU citizens are connected to DHC networks.

The decarbonisation opportunity is obvious and significant.

So why isn’t heat reuse everywhere already? Because data centres and heat networks are rarely neighbours. Every extra metre of pipe adds cost, complexity, and heat loss.

The 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 therefore focuses on:
• Early feasibility,
• realistic distance assessments,
• smarter matchmaking between data centres and district heating networks.

By identifying viable connections earlier, we can unlock projects that otherwise never make it past slideware.

𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐬, 𝐰𝐞’𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧:
• what actually makes heat reuse viable,
• where physics and economics matter most, and
• how early screening can turn ambition into infrastructure.

Because scaling heat reuse in Europe isn’t about megawatts alone – it’s about metres, timing, and getting the right partners around the table early.

*extrapolation between 2024 (70 TWh) and projection by 2030 (115 TWh)

2. The physics of heat – laws of thermodynamics are non-negotiable

𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚 𝐰𝐢𝐫𝐞. 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐭 25–35°𝐂 – 𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞.

That physics matters:
• Even well insulated pipes lose heat at low temperatures
• Low temperature differentials mean higher flow rates and rising pumping costs
• Districtheating networks typically need 60–80°C, so a heat pump is almost always required

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬? 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲:
• Legacy air cooling: ~25–35°C
• Rear door liquid cooling: ~35–50°C
• Direct liquid & immersion cooling: 50 – 60 °C (or higher for specialist systems).

Any increase in export temperature can extend viable pipeline distance and improve heat pump efficiency. Put simply: cooling choices inside the data centre shape the feasibility of transporting heat for reuse outside it.

Heat reuse works – but only when physics, infrastructure, and early engagement are aligned.

3. The economics of distance – Metres make or break the business case

When it comes to data centre heat reuse, the 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞. But it’s not just how far heat has to travel – it’s where that distance runs.

A 𝐩𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 crossing open land is a very different proposition from one dug through a dense urban street. It could be a 3 – 5× cost difference before adding everything else that tends to surface in cities: permits, road closures, traffic management, utility clashes, night time construction rules, and even archaeological risk in historic areas.

𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 reflect the same contrast. Open land projects may progress in 1–3 months, while urban routes can take 6 – 24 months – often becoming the critical path that delays or stops projects altogether.

Based on experience across Europe, rough 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 is mainly driven by distance and context. Up to ~2 km, greenfield routes can work; urban routes typically need strong heat prices or grants. Between 1–3 km, greenfield projects are often marginal and urban projects generally require subsidies. Beyond 3 km, feasibility usually depends on exceptional conditions, such as a large anchor heat demand or dedicated funding.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬. Higher export temperatures, larger projects, favourable heat offtake prices, carbon pricing, or public incentives can all move the boundary. Equally, poor ground conditions, fragmented ownership, or slow permitting can move it the other way.

This is why 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 is so critical – and why it sits at the core of the Heat Reuse Platform Project. The objective isn’t to avoid longer distances entirely. It’s to understand when the numbers can be made to work – and when they can’t – before time, capital, and effort are spent on a project.

4. Integrating infrastructure is a team sport

Across Europe, 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 succeed for 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧: they’re engineered. Real progress comes when 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧, 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠‑𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 are brought together early.

On the technical side, 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 makes a real difference. In‑building heat pumps lifting output to 45–55°C reduce pipeline losses, improve system efficiency, and on shorter routes can even remove the need for a heat pump at the receiving end.

Routing matters just as much. Distance is rarely linear, and smart routing can be as impactful as shortening the route itself. 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐢𝐩𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 with planned road, rail, or utility works can significantly cut costs and complexity.

Commercially, heat reuse is long‑term infrastructure and needs to be treated that way. Projects that move forward typically secure 15–20‑year anchor offtake agreements, combine 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 where available (EU Innovation Fund, national schemes), and phase delivery to build confidence before scaling.

𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 is increasingly part of the picture too. Locating new residential developments close to heat sources and heat networks doesn’t just solve today’s challenge, it helps future‑proof cities.

What ultimately brings all of this together is 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲, 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠: connecting the right data centre with the right heat network, based on distance, temperature, scale, timing, and commercial readiness. That’s exactly the role of the Heat Reuse Platform Project.