Literature Review on the Possibilities of Utilising the Excess Heat from Data Centers
Kinnunen, Jenni; Laajala, Pasi; Härkönen, Laura S.; Ruuttunen, Kyösti; Näkkilä, Juha; Keränen, Silja; Kerttula, Mikko; Pietarila, Janne; Lappalainen, Enna (2025)
Kajaani University of Applied Sciences
2025
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https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-7522-64-6
https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-7522-64-6
Tiivistelmä
The literature review has been conducted as part of the “Utilizing excess heat from data centers” project of Kajaani University of Applied Sciences, the Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE) and CSC - Information Technology Centre for Science Ltd. The project is mainly financed by the EU's Just Transition Fund (JTF), granted by the Regional Council of Kainuu. In addition to the implementers, the project is co-financed by the City of Kajaani, Loiste Lämpö Oy and Kansallisholding Oy.
The key objective of the Data Center Excess Heat project is to promote the green transition of the energy sector, create new business opportunities for a low-carbon circular economy, renew the economic structure, ensure the implementation of new investments and develop new business through RDI activities. The project will map the possibilities for utilizing excess heat in the form of technology studies, literature reviews and study visits. At the same time, the amount of excess heat generated in the Kajaani area will be predicted now and, in the future, based on both known data centers and possible new investments.
Based on these, a general plan is first created to understand the scale and magnitudes for different data center investment scenarios. In addition, more detailed site-specific plans are made for the concrete utilization of excess heat, for example in district heating production using heat storage, in food production and as part of the bioeconomy value chain, for example by drying bio-masses.
The purpose of this literature review is to explore the possibilities for utilizing excess heat from data centers based on the literature. Various publications have been published on the topic for a couple of decades, but in order to keep up with technological developments and obtain up-to-date information, this review has attempted to limit the sources to the most recent publications produced after year 2018. However, the limit is artificial, because a great deal of relevant literature, especially those opening up a basic understanding of the topic, has been published on the topic before this. Therefore, previously completed publications have not been completely ignored. In addition, the literature review has attempted to map the current state of excess heat utilization on a practical level using internet sources.
The key objective of the Data Center Excess Heat project is to promote the green transition of the energy sector, create new business opportunities for a low-carbon circular economy, renew the economic structure, ensure the implementation of new investments and develop new business through RDI activities. The project will map the possibilities for utilizing excess heat in the form of technology studies, literature reviews and study visits. At the same time, the amount of excess heat generated in the Kajaani area will be predicted now and, in the future, based on both known data centers and possible new investments.
Based on these, a general plan is first created to understand the scale and magnitudes for different data center investment scenarios. In addition, more detailed site-specific plans are made for the concrete utilization of excess heat, for example in district heating production using heat storage, in food production and as part of the bioeconomy value chain, for example by drying bio-masses.
The purpose of this literature review is to explore the possibilities for utilizing excess heat from data centers based on the literature. Various publications have been published on the topic for a couple of decades, but in order to keep up with technological developments and obtain up-to-date information, this review has attempted to limit the sources to the most recent publications produced after year 2018. However, the limit is artificial, because a great deal of relevant literature, especially those opening up a basic understanding of the topic, has been published on the topic before this. Therefore, previously completed publications have not been completely ignored. In addition, the literature review has attempted to map the current state of excess heat utilization on a practical level using internet sources.