Data Centre Heat Recovery with R1234ze Heat Pumps

FINLAND: The deployment of heat pumps utilising R1234ze refrigerant is intended for the establishment of the largest waste heat recycling system from data centres globally.

The waste heat generated by the forthcoming construction of a Microsoft data centre complex in Finland is set to be utilised for district heating purposes, benefiting a city and two other villages within the Helsinki metropolitan area. The industrial heat pumps needed for the heat recovery system's two plants will be provided by Oilon, a Finnish producer of heat pumps. The recipient of these heat pumps will be Fortum, a state-owned energy business. The heat pumps will be utilised to deliver cooling services to the data centres, capture and utilise the waste heat produced, and then transport the reclaimed energy to the nearby district heating network. The contract secured by Oilon, with an estimated value of approximately €15m, represents the most substantial agreement in the company's records. Oilon is set to distribute a range of its S series heat pumps that operate with the HFO refrigerant R1234ze. Every individual plant has an output temperature of 85°C. Collectively, the two plants will generate an approximate total of 40 megawatts (MW) of district heating, while attaining a coefficient of performance (COP) of 6.6. The inaugural heat pump facility is presently under construction at Kirkkonummi, with the initial batch of heat pumps scheduled for delivery to the location in early 2025. The implementation of the Espoo project will be delayed by six months. Overall, the infrastructure comprises over 900 kilometres of subterranean pipelines. According to the assertions made, the waste heat recovery system is purported to provide a sufficient amount of district heating to accommodate a clientele of 100,000 individuals while operating at maximum capacity. This constitutes 40% of the total number of district heating users, which amounts to 250,000, in the municipalities of Espoo, Kauniainen, and Kirkkonummi. According to reports, the combined contribution of the two heat pump facilities is projected to exceed 1% of the emission reduction necessary to attain Finland's objective of carbon neutrality.