Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and Danfoss have announced a collaboration for HPE IT Sustainability Services – Data Center Heat Recovery. This off-the-shelf heat recovery module is designed to help organizations manage and repurpose waste heat, contributing to the transition towards more sustainable IT facilities.

“Our strategic partnership with HPE is a great example of how we revolutionize building and decarbonizing the data center industry together with customers,” said Jürgen Fischer, President, Danfoss Climate Solutions. “With this latest cross-industry partnership we’re building the blueprint for the next generation of sustainable datacenters – using technologies available today.”

As more AI technologies are being integrated across various sectors, the demand for AI-optimized IT infrastructure is expected to skyrocket. According to the International Energy Agency, by 2026, the AI industry will consume at least ten times the electricity it did in 2023. To address these growing energy demands, IT leaders and data center operators are focusing on reducing energy usage and improving cooling systems.

Waste heat from data center cooling, estimated at 2,860 TWh per year, represents a significant untapped source of clean energy.

HPE and Danfoss’s new solution leverages HPE’s scalable Modular Data Centers (MDCs) and Danfoss’s innovative heat recovery technologies. HPE’s MDCs are small footprint, high-density containers that incorporate direct liquid cooling (DLC) technology, which reduces energy consumption by 20%. The modular units can be deployed almost anywhere, which eliminates the need for heavy industrial materials and reducing the deployment time from 18 months to as few as six months. They also offer a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.14, which is better than the typical PUE of 1.3 to 1.4 for traditional data centers.

Danfoss offers advanced heat reuse modules, which capture excess heat from data centers to provide renewable heating for onsite and neighboring buildings. Their Turbocor oil-free compressors enhance cooling efficiency by up to 30%.

“At HPE, we believe in the power of collaboration to create transformative solutions,” said Sue Preston, Vice President & General Manager, WW Advisory & Professional Services & Managed Services, HPE. “Our partnership with Danfoss brings together HPE’s innovative modular data center with Danfoss’ groundbreaking heat reuse technology. Together, we are not just adding value; we are multiplying it. By harnessing the typically untapped resource of waste heat, turning waste into worth, showing the future of energy usage is efficient, intelligent, and, most importantly, achievable now.”