European Edge data center developer nLighten has signed a deal to connect one of its data centers in the German city of Stuttgart to the city’s district heating network.

The data center operator partnered with local district heating firm Wärmelösungen Synergiepark Stuttgart to undertake the project, with the data center expected to start delivering heat sometime later this year.

As part of the deal, excess heat from the data center will be sold to Synergiepark Stuttgart, which will process and distribute it across the network. According to the partners, the data center will deliver approximately 1.8MW of heat to the network. The project is being supported by funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.

“The excess heat project with nLighten creates an added value for everyone involved: it delivers climate-friendly heat for our customers, strengthens the data center’s sustainable business model, and represents an important step towards decarbonising Stuttgart’s heat supply,” said Ulf Hummel, managing director of Wärmelösungen Synergiepark Stuttgart.

The system works by utilizing the data center’s closed-loop water systems as the heat transfer medium, capturing heat from the data center´s servers and using heat pumps to raise it to the temperature level required by the customers.

“The heat reuse project in Stuttgart is another milestone for nLighten and demonstrates how data centers can become active shapers of the energy transition. Following our successful project in Eschborn, we are once again proving that Europe’s digital infrastructure can be designed not only to be powerful and connected, but also sustainable,” said Andreas Herden, managing director Germany at nLighten.

The deal is the second heat reuse agreement nLighten has signed in the German market. In March 2023, the company signed a Letter of Intent with the City of Eschborn and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH to reuse the waste heat from its data center.

Backed by ISquared Capital, nLighten has a growing portfolio of data centers across Europe. This includes ten in Germany, acquired from Exa Infrastructure in 2023. The company also has data center developments in the UK, the Netherlands, and France.