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Summary
A panel of stakeholders ‒ representing German data center operators, energy utilities and municipality leadership ‒ shared insights into reusing data center waste heat to decarbonize district heating at Tech Show Frankfurt 2026.
Positioning themselves as pioneers in data center heat-reuse schemes, the panel emphasized that successful projects rely on early municipal planning that aligns power, heat and zoning. Other points discussed included financing, potential for industrial applications and regulations. The event was held May 6‒7.
At its Maniz energy campus, KMW is building three data centers with a combined IT power capacity of 54MW. The facility will be powered by renewable energy from KMW’s wind and solar portfolio, with gas turbine generators providing the backup power. The site currently produces district heating for Maniz via gas-fired power plants. However, the new data centers, cooled using water from the Rhine River, will also be able to supply district heating when surplus wind power is available, according to Blüm. “As the central operator of both the data center and the gas power plant, we can optimize [the usage] on an hourly basis,” he said.
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