Waste heat from a data center supplies Stuttgart's Synergiepark
October 5, 2026
Source: M&E powernews
Author: Heidi Roider
HEAT. In the future, waste heat from a data center will supply the heating network in Stuttgart’s Synergiepark. The system, which uses heat pumps, achieves a heating capacity of up to 1.8 MW.
Wärmelösungen Synergiepark Stuttgart (WLSS) and the data center operator “nLighten” have commissioned a heating system in Stuttgart’s Möhringen district that uses data center waste heat. The building network supplies, among others, the municipal “it.schule” in Stuttgart as well as several buildings belonging to the testing company Dekra. According to the project partners, this marks the first use of data center waste heat for local heat supply in Stuttgart.
“With this project, we are demonstrating how the energy transition can be implemented locally in a concrete way,” Dennis Bauer and Ulf Hummel, co-managing directors of Wärmelösungen Synergiepark Stuttgart, are quoted as saying in a press release. “The waste heat from a data center is no longer discharged unused but is instead utilized as a valuable resource for heating and cooling. In this way, we are combining digitalization with climate protection and laying the foundation for the further expansion of an innovative heating network in the Synergiepark Stuttgart.”
WLSS, a joint venture between Stadtwerke Stuttgart GmbH and “e-con AG,” has implemented a heating network in the Synergiepark that draws its energy from renewable sources, using innovative building technology from its regional partner, Alois Müller GmbH of Stuttgart. The technical foundation is a closed-loop water system. It captures the heat generated by server operations in nLighten’s data center and transports it into the supply system. Heat pumps then raise the waste heat to the temperature level required by the connected buildings.
Network Can Be Expanded to Include Additional Sources
The system is designed for a heating capacity of up to 1.8 MW. The operators expect an annual heat supply of approximately 5 GWh. Compared to the previous natural gas-based supply, the project is projected to save approximately 1,200 metric tons of CO2 equivalents per year. For both consumers, the supply via the local building network offers both environmental and economic advantages compared to fossil fuel-based solutions.
For the state capital of Stuttgart, the project represents an important step toward achieving climate neutrality. Peter Pätzold, Stuttgart’s mayor for urban development, housing, and the environment, emphasizes: “By utilizing waste heat from the data center, we are turning a previously unused resource into a building block of our climate-friendly heat supply. This is good municipal infrastructure: efficiently using existing energy, reducing CO2 emissions, and at the same time creating a heating network that can grow with the neighborhood. These are exactly the kinds of solutions we need if we want to make Stuttgart climate-neutral step by step.”
The project company has designed the infrastructure to be modular. This will allow additional heat sources and consumers to be integrated into the network in the future. The project is supported by federal funding and, according to Stadtwerke Stuttgart, serves as an example of how municipal, private, and industrial partners can jointly develop solutions for the heating transition. (hr)