Warsaw residents
Recovered heat powers the district heating network, reducing heating costs and carbon footprint.
- Lower CO₂ emissions in building heating
- Stable heat supply without additional combustion
- Better air quality in the city
Waste Heat for Warsaw
WasteLessDHS is an innovative project that converts waste heat from data centers into energy for Warsaw's district heating system.
15 MW of recovery, zero additional combustion.
MW
heat recovery capacity
from the pilot installation
GJ
energy per year
to the district heating network
households
annual supply equivalent
From Waste Heat to Heating System
Data centers generate significant amounts of waste heat. WasteLessDHS technology captures it and transports it to the district heating network, powering thousands of apartments in Warsaw.
Waste Heat from the Data Center
Servers generate heat as a byproduct. Instead of dissipating it to the atmosphere, the system captures the energy.
15 MWt Heat Pump System
An industrial heat pump system increases the temperature of the low-potential heat to the level required by the district heating network.
Veolia District Heating Network
The recovered heat is transferred to the Veolia Energia Warszawa district heating network, powering households and public utility buildings.
330 710 GJ/year for Warsaw
The project provides the heat energy equivalent for approximately 200 households, reducing CO₂ emissions by about 15,642 tons annually.
Benefits for everyone
Environment
The project avoids the emission of over 15,000 tons of CO₂ annually by utilizing waste heat.
- Reduction of CO₂ emissions by approx. 15,642 t/year
- Utilization of heat that would otherwise be wasted
- Support for Poland's energy transformation
Economy and innovation
Funded by the EU Innovation Fund, the project sets a standard for data center heat recovery for Europe.
- EU grant 2,808,500 EUR (Innovation Fund)
- Replicable business model for district heating networks
- Pioneering solution on the Polish market
Data center operators
Supplying waste heat to the network lowers operational costs and strengthens the data center operator's ESG profile.
- Optimization of operational costs
- Improvement of data center energy efficiency
- Strengthening the company's ESG policy
EU Credibility and Compliance
About the Project and Funding
Project description
The WasteLessDHS (Waste Less District Heating System) project is an initiative to recover waste heat from data centers and supply it to the municipal district heating network in Warsaw.
The project involves designing, building, and commissioning a 15 MW installation based on heat pumps between the data center cooling system and Veolia’s district heating network. The installation is intended to supply heat to the network for at least 10 years from commissioning.
Implementation is in line with the European Green Deal and EU climate goals for 2030.
Full project name
Efficient integration of Data Centers' waste heat for zero-emission District Heating Systems
Acronym
WasteLessDHS
Implementation period
February 2026 to December 2031
Project coordinator
Veolia Energia Warszawa S.A.
The WasteLessDHS project has received a grant from the European Union’s Innovation Fund program (agreement No. 101252183). Funding amount: EUR 2,808,500.Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Partners and funding
Project data
Funding program
Innovation Fund, European Commission
Technology
Water-to-water heat pumps, waste heat recovery from data center
Location
Warsaw, Poland
Installation capacity
15 MW
Electrical connection
5 MWe
CO₂ reduction
approx. 15,642 t/year
Funding
EUR 2,808,500 (approx. PLN 11.9 million, ~30% of costs)
Agreement number (GA)
101252183
Installation commissioning
Q1 2029
Status
In progress
