Citylink to channel waste heat from Wrocław data center into district heating network

Polish property developer Citylink has signed a letter of intent with local power plant operator Kogeneracja to capture waste heat from its 24MW data center in Wrocław and feed it into the city’s municipal district heating network. The facility, known as the Wrocław Stadion data center, is currently under construction and is expected to play a central role in the city’s push toward more sustainable energy use.

The agreement marks an early-stage commitment to integrate digital infrastructure with urban energy systems. A spokesperson for Citylink confirmed that the heat reuse system is still in the design and development phase, and that the company is not yet able to provide estimates for its cost or completion timeline. If realized, the system would divert heat generated by server operations into the district heating grid, reducing reliance on conventional heat sources and improving overall energy efficiency in the city.

Dariusz Witkowski, president of the management board at Kogeneracja, said the collaboration reflects a broader shift in how cities are approaching energy transition. “We are consistently seeking new heat sources that can support the transformation of Wrocław's heating system,” he said. “Our collaboration with Citylink is another step in developing projects utilizing waste heat. It confirms the growing role of digital infrastructure in creating a modern, energy-efficient economy. This solution allows for more efficient use of locally available energy.”

Citylink, headquartered in Warsaw, operates four business parks across Poland, including a mixed-use complex outside Wrocław that combines office, warehouse, and data center space. The company has confirmed that Nokia will be the primary tenant of the new data center, using the site to test broadband data transmission technologies. Although construction is still ongoing, Citylink noted that the facility has been designed to allow the heat reuse system to be scaled up if the campus expands in the future.

Michał Starybrat, Citylink’s development director, said the project will also provide the firm with operational insight into next-generation infrastructure. He highlighted that the initiative would offer “valuable experience in designing and operating modern data centers, with a particular focus on infrastructure dedicated to AI nodes.”

Wrocław remains a relatively small data center market in Poland, with only five facilities currently tracked by DataCenterMap. However, the city is emerging as a testing ground for waste heat integration. In July, the Wrocław University of Science and Technology also signed a letter of intent with Kogeneracja to develop a similar heat reuse system from servers in its Center for Networking and Supercomputing, though no cost or timeline details have been disclosed for that project either.

The move reflects a growing trend across Europe to treat data centers not just as consumers of electricity but as potential sources of local, low-carbon heat. As AI workloads push up server densities and thermal output, waste heat recovery is becoming an increasingly viable component of urban energy strategies. For Wrocław, partnerships like this could help modernize the city’s heating infrastructure while supporting the expansion of digital services.