atNorth’s DEN01 to supply district heating in Copenhagen
Author: Joe Peck
atNorth, an Icelandic operator of sustainable Nordic data centres, has agreed a partnership with Vestforbrænding, Denmark’s largest waste-to-energy company, to supply excess heat from its forthcoming DEN01 data centre campus into the district heating network serving Greater Copenhagen.
DEN01, a 22.5MW site in Ballerup, is scheduled to open in early 2026. Through the collaboration, warm water generated as a by-product of direct liquid cooling will be transferred into Vestforbrænding’s network from 2028.
The recovered heat is expected to support the heating of more than 8,000 homes, reducing energy consumption for local central heating and lowering emissions for both organisations.
Denmark has pursued decarbonisation for several years and has set a national target to become net zero by 2045, with a 110% emissions reduction target by 2050. Coal is being phased out of the district heating sector, and heat-reuse projects form part of the country’s circular economy strategy.
atNorth highlights that the initiative aligns with its wider approach to sustainable construction, energy efficiency, and community-focused development.
Vestforbrænding is expanding its network as part of its 2030 District Heating Plan, replacing oil and gas boilers across thousands of households and integrating new heat sources such as surplus heat from data centres.
Heat-reuse initiatives across the Nordics
Steen Neuchs Vedel, CEO of Vestforbrænding, says, “For many years, we have talked about surplus heat from data centres being part of the future. Now, the future is here.
“With today’s contract signing, we are showing the way forward for how surplus heat from data centres can reach people’s homes. There has also been talk about sector coupling in the district heating sector: today, we demonstrate how this can happen in practice, to the benefit of consumers.”
Eyjólfur Magnús Kristinsson, CEO at atNorth, adds, “As the demand for AI-ready digital infrastructure continues to increase, it is imperative that data centre companies scale in a responsible way.
“By actively seeking heat-reuse partnerships for our data centres, we can mitigate our environmental impact, benefit the communities in which we operate, and help clients decarbonise their IT workloads.”
The announcement follows atNorth’s partnership with Wa3rm, which plans to use waste heat from the company’s DEN02 site to support local vegetable production.
atNorth has also agreed a heat-reuse initiative with Kesko Corporation to supply recovered heat from its FIN02 site to a neighbouring store.
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