PUBLISHER: Guidehouse Insights | PRODUCT CODE: 1645200
PUBLISHER: Guidehouse Insights | PRODUCT CODE: 1645200
Waste Heat Reuse for Data Centers: Global Revenue Forecasts by Construction Type, Cooling Technology, Data Center Size, and Heat Pump Use, 2024-2033
The market for the reuse of waste heat from data centers, while currently nascent, is already decarbonizing heating for homes, businesses, and manufacturing facilities. Data centers are rapidly growing in size, number, and electricity demand and are expected to double in power consumption globally by as soon as 2026 according to the International Energy Agency. As data centers continue to grow, a large capacity of emissions-free heat will be available to meet sustainability goals if infrastructure is in place to enable it to be reused. The most common applications of data center waste heat recovery currently include district heating, space heating, water heating, agriculture, aquaculture, and low grade process heating.
The primary driver of the data center waste heat recovery market today is the rapid development of new data centers paired with a generally increasing level of climate change abatement policies globally. Other drivers include increasing awareness of the opportunities for waste heat recovery among potential offtakers, and growing corporate sustainability goals for both data centers and offtakers. A lack of suitable heat transfer infrastructure is the single largest barrier to further adoption of waste heat recovery. Additionally, most waste heat recovery today occurs in newly built data centers, as retrofitting a heat recovery system into existing facilities involves significant costs. Government policies and logistic support for pairing data centers with offtakers, as well as the development of heat transfer networks, are key ways to reduce these barriers.
This Guidehouse Insights report examines the global market for data center waste heat recovery, analyzing current market issues, technology trends, drivers, barriers, and the policy landscape. Market forecasts are presented for revenue through 2033 and are segmented by region, construction type, data center cooling technology, and heat pump usage.
Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary
- 1.1 State of the Market
- 1.2 Market Drivers and Barriers
- 1.3 Market Forecasts
2. Market Issues
- 2.1 Introduction
- 2.1.1 Technology Definitions
- 2.1.2 Use Cases and End Users
- 2.2 Drivers
- 2.2.1 Growing Data Center Demand
- 2.2.2 Government Mandates, Policies, and Incentives
- 2.2.2.1 North America
- 2.2.2.2 Europe
- 2.2.2.3 Asia Pacific
- 2.2.3 Waste Heat End User Growth
- 2.2.4 Sustainability Goals
- 2.3 Barriers
- 2.3.1 Lack of Existing Infrastructure
- 2.3.2 Generally Low Grade of Heat
- 2.3.3 Seasonality and Offtaker Availability
- 2.3.4 Expensive Retrofit Options
3. Industry Value Chain
- 3.1 Competitive Landscape
- 3.1.1 M&A and Investment Activities
- 3.1.2 Business Model Evolution
- 3.1.2.1 Value of Heat
- 3.1.2.2 Emerging Market Approaches
4. Market Forecasts
- 4.1 Methodology
- 4.2 Definitions and Scope
- 4.3 Global Forecasts
- 4.4 Regional Forecasts
- 4.4.1 North America
- 4.4.2 Europe
- 4.4.3 Rest of World
5. Conclusions and Recommendations
- 5.1 Conclusion
- 5.2 Three Big Takeaways
- 5.3 Recommendations
- 5.3.1 Regulators and Legislators Must Offer Support, Both Monetary and Logistic
- 5.3.2 Data Center Operators Must Remain Creative While Advocating for Supportive Infrastructure
- 5.3.3 District Heating and Heat Utility Operators Should Play a Powerful Mediating Role
- 5.3.4 Manufacturers of Industrial Heat Pumps and Supporting Infrastructure Must Be Flexible and Innovative When Approaching the Data Center Market
6. Acronym and Abbreviation List
7. Table of Contents
8. Table of Charts and Figures
9. Scope of Study, Sources and Methodology, Notes
