Fortum and Microsoft are working together in the world’s largest data center collaboration project to heat homes, public buildings, and businesses with sustainable excess heat from a new data center region. To put it simply: soon, whenever you enter a Teams meeting, use digital office tools or surf the net, you literally warm up your neighbor’s home. This partnership is a practical example of how energy unites businesses and societies for positive impact.
The data centers will use 100% emission-free electricity, and Fortum will transfer the emission free heat from the server cooling process to its district heating system. Altogether, the collaboration will serve 40 % of the district heating needs of Fortum's customers in Finland’s second largest city Espoo and its neighboring cities.
”We are very proud to say that the waste heat recycling concept from the data center region is the largest of its kind in the world”, says Patrik Öhlund, Director, Energy Markets (EMEA region) at Microsoft. (See the full interview below).
Change-driven cooperation
Shannon Wojcik, Senior Program Manager, EMEA Energy explains the project’s potential further: ”By tapping into excess heat from data centers, we warm up 250,000 district heat users in Espoo, Kirkkonummi and Kauniainen”.
Wojcik is satisfied with the cooperation with Fortum: “Fortum possesses extensive expertise in heating solutions which is crucial in projects of this magnitude. Once the project is operational, it will be a culmination of years of hard work from individuals with a diverse range of skills from both our companies. So far, our collaboration has been seamless, with no boundaries between our companies. We share a common goal, to drive change and make a positive impact.”
As an American, district heating systems were new to Wojcik. “This is not how we typically heat our homes in the U.S. I first really learned about its efficiency at Stanford, which has their own district heating and cooling system called SESI. Learning about this helped develop my curiousity and drive to work on interconnected and efficient energy systems”, she says.
Digitalization is growing everywhere
Data volumes and digitalization are growing everywhere. Microsoft currently has over 300 data centers all over the world integrated into our data-driven knowledge economy and information society. And customer demand keepson growing: “Operators like Microsoft are looking for the best locations to build data centers to support customer needs for high availability and resilience. Data centers also generate heat as a byproduct, and by capturing and repurposing this excess heat, we can improve the energy efficiency of the data center and create a positive impact on society as a whole.”, says Wojcik.
Location, location, location
As the old saying goes in real estate business, location is the key for data centers, too.“When locating data centers in places where the waste heat generated by the cooling of the services can be captured and used, location is key. Microsoft requires proximity to a district heating network, a large enough plot, access to a secure supply of emission-free electricity and a strong data network. Finding all these items can be challenging, but working with partners like Fortum has been helpful in identifying these locations.”, Wojcik continues.
The data center investment is a response to Finland’s growing demand for high performance, sustainable computing and fast and reliable access to Microsoft services. Finland is at the forefront of digitalization and innovation and the nation’s companies and public sector organizations are leaders in the digital transformation of their sectors. By establishing a new data center region in the country, Microsoft will power the Finnish digital transformation, while also heating Finnish homes and businesses and helping cities achieve their emissions targets. This project will also transform the design thinking of data centers in the future. Microsoft’s data center region not only supports the climate target, but also further digitalization of businesses and the whole society.
”What I find especially valuable is that we can find new models for data center design thinking and utilize these learnings around the world”, says Wojcik.
Combining two megatrends to meet ambitious goals
The joint project combines two megatrends: digitalization and energy transition. Fortum and Microsoft are combining their world-leading expertise in heating, energy efficient solutions and cloud technology. This will support the growth and competitiveness of the Helsinki metropolitan area through decarbonization and digitalization.
”Fortum has collaborated with local cities and municipalities for several years in order to pave the way for these investments. Fortum’s district heat in Finland will be carbon-neutral by 2030. A significant part of this target can be achieved by utilizing the waste heat from Microsoft’s data centers”, says Teemu Nieminen, Project Director from Fortum's Heating and Cooling business.
The new Nordic Fortum is a unifying force, building bridges and creating new connections. ”We help societies to reach carbon neutrality and our customers to grow and decarbonize their processes in a reliable and profitable way, in balance with nature. Electrification offers substantial environmental and economic opportunities – especially in the Nordics”, says Juha Sainio from Fortum’s Strategic Partnerships team.
Fortum’s heat recycling project has progressed to construction phase, and the expectations are high. Using excess heat of the data center sites will contribute to climate goals on an exceptionally large scale: it meets up to 3 % of the targeted future CO2 emission reductions in Finland.
What are the next steps?
Microsoft's renewable energy commitment involves a 100% renewable energy supply for the company's operations, including its data centers, by 2025. By making power purchase agreements Microsoft is promoting the green energy transition while creating new opportunities for energy efficiency.
For Shannon Wojcik this project is a personal milestone: ”I have been passionate about sustainability since high school. One of the first projects I worked on at Microsoft had similar goals but we couldn't get the commercial agreement and carbon reduction to align to move forward. Five years later we were finally able to do it at our data centers in Finland and do it at a massive scale with huge carbon reduction benefits. I admit it feels amazing”, she says.
