DHC MODE: THE PROSUMER DATA CENTER

The heat you are dumping is worth more than you think.

If you sit within 3 km of a district heating network, your data center becomes a thermal energy supplier. Cooling stops being a cost and becomes a revenue line.

~€2.65M / year
Estimated revenue from heat sale (€65 / MWh)
~€1M / year
Electricity savings from PUE 1.50 → 1.10
~€200K
Cooling-battery CAPEX avoided (Thermal UPS included)
DC bus 800V
Native architecture, compatible with high-density AI racks

Reference: 10 MW IT data center, 150 kW per rack.

THE PROBLEM

Cooling is a cost centre. Heat is an opportunity.

Today you buy electricity to produce cold, then dump the heat into the atmosphere. With AI densities of 150 kW per rack, this cost grows non-linearly.

In a blackout, cooling is unprotected: no UPS shields the data center's most critical asset. Waste heat, on the other hand, has a market: the nearby DHC network is willing to buy it at a tariff.

You are leaving a direct revenue line on the table and keeping an operational risk that can be eliminated.

District heating plant with steam plumes in a valley
A district heating network: the natural buyer of your recovered heat.
THE SOLUTION

Four economic levers in a single plant.

RHP lifts the cooling fluid to 70 – 120 °C and delivers it continuously to the DHC network. You negotiate the tariff directly with the network operator: your heat is decarbonised (zero combustion, zero direct emissions), exactly the thermal source that RED III and EED push DHC networks to integrate. You have the right product at the right time. In parallel, Thermal UPS: continuous cooling even in a blackout, for as long as the electrical UPS lasts. The platform is DC-native, compatible with the 800V bus of high-density AI racks.

01

Direct revenue from decarbonised heat

Heat delivered to the DHC network at a contracted tariff. Zero combustion, zero direct emissions: the thermal source RED III and EED prioritise.

02

Electricity savings

PUE 1.10 with auxiliaries self-powered via ORC. The existing fleet averages around 1.50.

03

Avoided CAPEX

No traditional cooling batteries: Thermal UPS already built in.

04

Reduced conversion losses

DC-native architecture, native integration with the 800V bus.

THE NUMBERS

What changes, in figures.

Reference: 10 MW IT data center, 150 kW per rack.

~€2.65M / year
Estimated revenue (€65 / MWh)
~€1M / year
Electricity savings (PUE 1.50 → 1.10)
~€200K
Cooling-battery CAPEX avoided
40,800 MWh / year
Heat available to the network

€65 / MWh used as a reference tariff. The final value depends on the contract with the DHC operator.

WHEN THIS DOES NOT FIT

When this solution is not the right choice.

DHC mode does not make sense in these cases. We tell you upfront, before you book the call.

  • You are more than 3 km from an active DHC network
  • The DHC operator has no capacity for continuous heat off-take
  • Your site has physical constraints that prevent a thermal connection
  • The 800V DC bus advantage only pays off in full if your power infrastructure is, or will be, compatible

In those cases: consider RHP + Thermal Storage for thermal autonomy, or Energy as a Service for zero CAPEX.

PROOF

Validated technology. Ready to scale.

Pilot plant operational since June 2026 on the base technology (small-scale Carnot battery). Measured performance in line with design on COP and heat recovery.

Reversible ORC patent application filed October 2025, search report positive on all 12 claims. Co-inventors: Marco Margotti (CEO, 29 years B2B + 6 years on ORC Kaymacor) and Giuseppe Toniato (CTO, 30 years of thermodynamic systems).

The technology is validated. The next step is turning your recovered heat into grid revenue, at commercial scale up to 10 MW IT and beyond.

LET'S TALK

Let's check whether your site qualifies.

30 minutes of technical analysis: distance from the nearest DHC network, available thermal power, preliminary business case.

See also: RHP + Thermal Storage · Energy as a Service