In a pioneering move for Poland, Veolia Energia Poznan and hosting provider Beyond.pl have embarked on a collaborative project to repurpose waste heat generated by data center operations at Beyond.pl‘s Poznan campus. The two companies have signed a letter of intent to conduct a feasibility study aimed at channeling this thermal energy into the city’s district heating network, providing low-emission heating to local residents.
This initiative not only promises to enhance energy efficiency but also aims to reduce reliance on fossil fuels for the city’s heating needs.
The primary focus of the partnership is the recovery of heat produced by servers operating in hosting provider Beyond.pl’s data centers, with a particular emphasis on AI-driven, high-performance computing infrastructure. The project will involve the construction and operation of an advanced waste heat recovery system, utilizing industrial-grade heat pumps in conjunction with next-generation high-density servers. This setup is expected to deliver thermal energy at the levels required to integrate with the district heating network, enabling large-scale, low-emission heat distribution across residential, commercial, and industrial buildings in Poznan, the capital of the Greater Poland region.
In its initial phase, the project could introduce a new heat source with an estimated thermal capacity of 30 MW to the southeastern area of Poznan. The impact of this development is expected to be substantial, with projections suggesting a reduction of approximately 52,500 tons of CO2 emissions and a decrease in water usage by around 76,500 cubic meters annually. By displacing fossil fuels in the heating process, the project will also contribute to enhancing energy security for Poznan and the surrounding region.
Green Practices
Veolia and Beyond.pl’s heat recovery partnership would mark a first for Poland, according to the two companies, as no other collaboration between a data center operator and a district heating company for waste heat reuse has been implemented in the country to date.
Luiz Hanania, CEO of Veolia Group in Poland, emphasized the company’s commitment to decarbonization and improving quality of life through innovative, environmentally friendly solutions. Veolia’s GreenUp strategy, which spans from 2024 to 2027, seeks to promote decarbonization, resource regeneration, and emission reductions across various sectors, including municipal heating. Hanania noted that this project aligns with Veolia’s broader objectives by using the waste heat from data centers as a renewable energy source, thereby increasing the proportion of low-emission heating in Poznan’s energy mix.
Beyond.pl, the other key partner in the initiative, has a well-established reputation for sustainable practices in the data center industry. As one of the first data center operators in Poland and the region to run its facilities solely on renewable energy, Beyond.pl has long integrated green practices into its business model.
Data Center 2, located at the Poznan campus, would be among the most energy-efficient and low-emission facilities of its kind in Europe, boasting high levels of energy efficiency and minimal water consumption. Since its opening in 2016, the data center has been recycling waste heat to warm its own office and logistics buildings, making this city-wide project a natural extension of its ongoing sustainability efforts.
The project is made possible by Beyond.pl‘s continuous investments to expand its data center campus’s capacity to 150 MW, much of which is allocated for high-density IT infrastructure tailored for AI deployment. With some server racks reaching up to 132 kW, the facility would generate a significant amount of high-quality waste heat suitable for district heating applications. This infrastructure upgrade is a crucial factor in scaling the heat recovery system to meet the needs of the municipal heating network.
According to Wojciech Stramski, CEO of Beyond.pl, the heat recovery initiative is a unique undertaking in the region and represents a bold step forward for Poland’s decarbonization efforts. He highlighted the project’s potential to offer tangible benefits to Poznan’s residents while setting an example for other cities. The company is not only focused on maintaining data center security and operational excellence but also prioritizing environmental protection and resource conservation.
AWS, Meta, Microsoft – Utilizing Waste Heat
The use of waste heat from data centers as a low-emission energy source is increasingly gaining traction in Europe. Comparable initiatives have been implemented in countries like Ireland, Denmark, and Finland, where companies such as Amazon Web Services, Meta, and Microsoft have linked their data centers to district heating networks. In some cases, these projects supply up to 40% of local heat demand.
Piotr Kowalski, Head of Innovation at Beyond.pl, pointed out that the improved efficiency of modern thermal management systems and advancements in information technology have significantly enhanced the quality of waste heat produced by data centers, making it a valuable resource for energy ecosystems.
For Veolia Energia Poznan, this collaboration is part of a broader effort to decarbonize the city’s district heating system. The company aims to phase out coal by 2030, building on past successes in reducing CO2 emissions by 60% since 1990 through innovative approaches to heating. The heat recovery project with Beyond.pl aligns with Veolia’s ongoing initiatives to utilize industrial waste heat for municipal heating, and Jakub Patalas, President of Veolia Energia Poznan, expressed optimism that the project will further reduce fossil fuel dependency for the city’s heat production.
As part of the city’s comprehensive heating strategy, the Poznan 2025 project is nearing completion, with a new cogeneration source of heat and power being developed at the Karolin Combined Heat and Power Plant. This facility would play a critical role in transitioning Poznan towards a more sustainable energy future, complementing the efforts made through the heat recovery collaboration with Beyond.pl.
