Deutsche Telekom Integrates Berlin Data Center Waste Heat into District Heating Network December 3, 2025 As the data center industry faces mounting pressure to improve energy efficiency and reduce its carbon footprint, the reuse of waste heat has emerged as a critical frontier for sustainability. In a significant move addressing this challenge, Deutsche Telekom has begun supplying excess heat from one of its Berlin data centers to a local district heating system, marking a notable step in Germany's push for circular energy solutions. The project, located in the Berlin-Schöneberg district, connects a Deutsche Telekom facility operated by its subsidiary PASM Power and Solution GmbH to the Pallasseum, a listed residential building from the 1970s housing approximately 2,000 residents across 500 apartments. The technical implementation involves capturing low-temperature waste heat from the data center and raising it to between 70 and 75 degrees Celsius (158-167°F) using a water-to-water heat pump. This heat is then transported via a newly installed 140-meter (459-foot) pipeline to the building's heating plant. While a gas boiler remains as a backup for peak demand, the system is designed to meet about 65 percent of the Pallasseum's annual heating requirements. Matthias Trunk, Sales Director at utility partner GASAG Group, emphasized the project's broader significance, stating, "The energy transition won’t be decided solely in new buildings, but above all in existing ones. The Pallasseum impressively demonstrates how we can intelligently integrate unused energy sources, such as server waste heat, into existing systems." Dr. Jochen Lang, head of the Housing and Urban Renewal Department at the Berlin Senate, echoed this sentiment, calling the partnership "an outstanding example" that shows "climate protection, historic preservation, and socially responsible housing are compatible." This initiative is not an isolated case but part of a concerted national effort. It directly supports mandates under Germany's 2023 Energy Efficiency Act, which sets specific power usage effectiveness (PUE) and waste heat reuse quotas for data centers. Following this legislative push, several similar projects have been announced across the country, including partnerships in Frankfurt and Norderstedt, signaling a growing trend where data center operators and municipal utilities collaborate to transform waste heat from a liability into a community asset. Source: datacenterdynamics
Deutsche Telekom Integrates Berlin Data Center Waste Heat into District Heating Network
