Waste heat as a heat source for residential areas: A representative E.ON survey* confirms that this leads to higher acceptance of data centres among residents. Nearly three out of four Germans (72.5%) find data centres in close proximity to residential areas more attractive if their waste heat is specifically utilised for municipal heating networks. Around 78 percent of respondents therefore support close cooperation between data centres, energy suppliers, and municipalities in the energy and heat transition.

“Digital sovereignty and competitiveness in the age of artificial intelligence are among the most important political, economic, and social priorities across Europe. With a triad of local energy generation, intelligent waste heat utilisation, and integrated energy management, we accelerate the commissioning of new data centre projects while simultaneously creating social value and providing noticeable relief to the energy system,” says Marten Bunnemann, CEO of E.ON Energy Infrastructure Solutions, adding: “In doing so, we make an important contribution to building a resilient and future-proof digital infrastructure for Europe.”

Enormous demand for digital applications increases the importance of data centres

Europe’s digital sovereignty and economic prosperity are increasingly influenced by AI applications and capacities. The European Commission plans to triple data centre capacity in the EU over the next four to six years as part of its “AI Continent Action Plan.” Computing capacities for artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and data-intensive applications are driving up energy demand across Europe. New regulatory requirements for energy efficiency, waste heat utilisation, and the decarbonisation of energy infrastructure are also increasing the technical demands on data centre operators. “Time-to-Power” – the time span from planning to operation of a data centre – thus becomes the key metric for European data centre projects.

How E.ON Energy Infrastructure Solutions supports data centres in Time-to-Power and waste heat utilisation

German citizens therefore see energy companies as responsible for significantly shaping the supply of digital infrastructure. Two-thirds of Germans (67.3%) trust the competence of energy companies to develop innovative solutions for the energy supply of digital infrastructure such as data centres; in the UK, just under half of respondents share this opinion.

E.ON Energy Infrastructure Solutions – a growth division of E.ON – supports data centres with integrated, modular solutions throughout the entire path to operational commissioning. With local energy generation solutions, operators shorten their Time-to-Power and increase their attractiveness as partners to municipalities through waste heat utilisation. Waste heat from data centres serves as a simple, emission-free heat source for municipal heat planning: instead of remaining unused, it can be made usable for the regional heating network through adequate preparation. Data centres thus become active partners in the European energy and heat transition.

“Energy Playbook for Data centres”: A White Paper as a Compass for an Entire Industry

The survey was conducted as part of a newly published White Paper by E.ON on data centres and the energy transition. The publication combines insights into the current challenges of the European data centre industry with concrete solutions. This provides European data centres with an understanding of how the critical “Time-to-Power” can be shortened by years – and how they can simultaneously develop into recognised partners in the regions where they operate.

The White Paper is now available for download here.

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