With the exception of a few regions, almost all electricity that data centers consume ultimately winds up rejected as waste heat – and that electricity consumption will only grow in the years ahead. But proven technology is in use to productively re-use waste heat from data centers in district energy systems which can heat buildings, reduce the burden on the electric grid, and ultimately decrease costs while increasing reliability.
Reshape Strategies, a leading consulting and advisory firm focusing on sustainable energy and infrastructure, recently published Data Heat: Sector Coupling of Data Centers & District Heating, a comprehensive analysis of the technical, business, and policy opportunities that data center waste heat re-use presents. In this webinar, we ‘ll be joined by experts to discuss their findings, including:
• What technical configurations of data center heat re-use are compatible with new and existing data centers, including the temperature profiles of the waste heat; the capital and space requirements at the data center and in the district energy system; and the anticipated heat reuse system efficiencies? • Which factors determine the cost/benefit analysis of data center waste heat re-use compared to other low-carbon alternatives? • What policy frameworks, both indirect and targeted, can support data center heat re-use reach its technical and economic potential? • What recommendations do the authors have to identify favorable market segments, stakeholders and roles, and match possible policies & incentives to produce desired outcomes?
This 90-minute webinar will feature presentations and discussions among the report’s authors and others actively facilitating the use of waste-heat in district energy systems. It will serve as a helpful lead-in to IDEA’s District Energy and Data Centers Workshop on Tuesday, June 23 at our IDEA2026 annual conference in Ottawa, Ontario.
#NewWebinar