Data centers can serve as a long-term, climate-neutral heat source for district heating networks—if the definition of waste heat in the Combined Heat and Power Act (KWKG) is adjusted. IDED released this joint statement with AGFW and Bitkom.
Data centers can serve as a long-term, climate-neutral heat source for heating networks — if the definition of waste heat in the Combined Heat and Power Act (KWKG) is adjusted. IDED published this joint statement with AGFW and Bitkom.
IDED (formerly known as SDIA) collaborated with the energy efficiency association AGFW and Bitkom to develop a cross-industry position on the use of data center waste heat in Germany.
The main demands:
Adjust the definition: The waste heat definition in the KWKG must be updated to legally and economically enable the feeding of data center waste heat into heating networks.
Support heat transition: Germany must transform heating networks to achieve climate goals. Data centers offer a stable, reliable, and CO₂-free heat source that can accelerate this transformation.
Cross-industry collaboration: The cooperation between associations from the energy sector (AGFW), digital economy (Bitkom), and digital infrastructure (IDED) demonstrates the value of cross-sector solutions.
This statement marks one of the first cross-industry initiatives for the systematic use of data center waste heat in Germany.