# RHP + Thermal Storage — Autonomous Cooling > With no DHC network, thermal storage makes the data center independent: ~€1M / year in electricity savings, ~€200K of CAPEX avoided, cooling through a blackout. **Page:** https://www.bikenergy.com/en/storage ## Autonomous cooling, costs near zero. When a DHC network is not there or contracting one does not make sense, thermal storage makes you independent. Capture the heat, store it, manage it in the convenient hours. And in a blackout the cooling continues, for as long as the electrical UPS lasts. - **~€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._ ## You are far from district heating. Or you want to stay free of external contracts. Energy for cooling remains the data center's first operating cost, and with AI densities it grows non-linearly. Thermal loads are not uniform: daytime peaks, underused night-time hours. Without a buffer you cannot shift demand in time, so you pay everything at peak price. And on cooling, blackout risk stays exposed: no UPS protects the data center's most critical asset. You need autonomy. Technological, contractual, operational. ## Three economic levers, one machine. RHP coupled with a thermal buffer (tanks or PCM): captures excess heat, stores it, releases it during the convenient hours. Thermal peak shaving without touching the IT loads. 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: you eliminate the double AC/DC conversion, reduce Joule losses, simplify the electrical distribution. 01. **Electricity savings** — PUE 1.10 with auxiliaries self-powered via ORC. 02. **Avoided CAPEX** — No traditional cooling batteries: Thermal UPS already built in. 03. **Reduced conversion losses** — DC-native architecture, native integration with the 800V bus. 04. **Future-ready** — If tomorrow a DHC network reaches you, you are already ready to connect. ## What changes, in figures. _Reference: 10 MW IT data center, 150 kW per rack._ - **2,356 MWh** — ORC electricity self-consumed / year - **~€1M / year** — Electricity savings (PUE 1.50 → 1.10) - **~€200K** — Cooling-battery CAPEX avoided Waste heat remains available for a future DHC connection, with no additional structural work. ## When this solution is not the right choice. Storage mode does not make sense in these cases. We tell you upfront, before you book the call. - You do not have enough **external footprint** for the storage tanks (significant ground space) - Your CAPEX budget is **capped at zero** (consider EaaS mode) - You already have a **DHC network within 3 km** (DHC mode adds direct revenue from heat sale) - The 800V DC bus advantage only pays off in full **with compatible power infrastructure** In those cases: consider [RHP for DHC](https://www.bikenergy.com/en/dhc) for direct revenue, or [Energy as a Service](https://www.bikenergy.com/en/eaas) for zero CAPEX. ## Validated technology. Ready to run standalone. 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 net-zero-cost cooling and blackout autonomy at your site, with no district heating network required. ## Glossary - **RHP** — Reversible Heat Pump: BI-K's core machine. One thermodynamic cycle that runs as a heat pump to cool, or as an ORC to generate electricity, switching automatically between the two. - **EnEfG** — Energieeffizienzgesetz: Germany's Energy Efficiency Act. It requires new data centers to reuse a rising share of their waste heat: 10% from 2026, 15% from 2027, 20% from 2028. - **EED** — Energy Efficiency Directive: the EU's recast energy efficiency law (2023). Among other measures it requires data centers to report their energy use and pushes waste-heat recovery and reuse. - **ORC cycle** — Organic Rankine Cycle: a thermodynamic cycle that converts low-to-medium temperature heat into electricity, using an organic working fluid instead of water and steam. - **COP** — Coefficient of Performance: how efficiently a heat pump moves heat. A COP of 4 means 4 units of heat delivered per unit of electricity consumed. Higher is better. - **CAPEX** — Capital Expenditure: the upfront investment to acquire or build a physical asset (e.g. equipment), as opposed to recurring operating costs (OPEX). - **OPEX** — Operating Expenditure: the recurring costs of running an asset (e.g. energy, maintenance, staff), as opposed to the upfront investment (CAPEX). - **SLA** — Service Level Agreement: a contract that sets the guaranteed levels of service (e.g. availability, response times) and the consequences if they aren't met. - **PUE** — Power Usage Effectiveness: a data center's total energy divided by the energy its IT equipment actually uses. 1.0 is the ideal; the gap above it is overhead, mostly cooling. - **RED III** — Renewable Energy Directive III: the EU's revised renewable energy directive (2023). It raises binding renewable targets and pushes district heating and waste-heat reuse toward renewable and recovered sources. - **DHC** — District Heating and Cooling: a network of insulated pipes that delivers heat from a central source to many buildings, instead of each running its own boiler. Common across Europe, especially Germany. --- ## Contact - **Company:** BI-K Energy - **Address:** Via Belvedere, 169, 37131 Verona VR - **Email:** margotti@bikenergy.com - **Phone:** +39 340 52 37 398 - **Founders:** Marco Margotti ([LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/margottimarco/)), Giuseppe Toniato ([LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/giuseppe-toniato-b6770941/)) - **Web:** https://www.bikenergy.com/en