How Will atNorth Heat 8,000 Danish Homes?

atNorth has signed an agreement with Vestforbrænding to supply excess heat from its DEN01 data centre in Ballerup, Greater Copenhagen, into the region’s district heating network. 

The collaboration will route warm water generated through Direct Liquid Cooling into Vestforbrænding’s infrastructure, providing heat for over 8000 homes from 2028.

DEN01 is a 22.5MW metro campus scheduled to open in early 2026. The agreement forms part of atNorth’s strategy to integrate heat reuse into new sites as demand for high-density, AI-ready infrastructure increases.

Using liquid cooling heat for district heating

The heat supplied to Vestforbrænding will be produced as a byproduct of DEN01’s Direct Liquid Cooling system.

The approach improves thermal efficiency inside the facility and provides a consistent source of warm water suitable for district heating networks.

The companies expect the process to reduce carbon emissions for both partners, as recycled heat will offset energy that would otherwise be required to fuel domestic heating.

Denmark aims to reach net zero by 2045, with a 110% emissions reduction target by 2050.

District heating plays a key role in the national strategy and the government is phasing out the use of coal in the sector. Heat reuse from data centres aligns with Denmark’s broader circular economy goals, making the DEN01 project a fit within national policy.

Vestforbrænding is expanding its district heating network as part of its 2030 plan, which includes replacing oil and gas boilers in thousands of households. The company has identified surplus heat sources as an important element of that roadmap.

“For many years, we have talked about surplus heat from data centres being part of the future,” says Steen Neuchs Vedel, CEO of Vestforbrænding. 

“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.”

atNorth expands heat reuse across Nordic sites

The DEN01 agreement reflects atNorth’s wider approach to integrating heat reuse into its data centre portfolio. The company positions heat recovery as one component of its broader operational model, which includes renewable power sourcing, efficient site design and engagement with local communities.

“As the demand for AI-ready digital infrastructure continues to increase, it is imperative that data centre companies scale in a responsible way”, says Eyjólfur Magnús Kristinsson, CEO of atNorth.

“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 company has recently partnered with Wa3rm to reuse heat from its DEN02 site to support circular agriculture projects, including vegetable production near the facility. 

In Finland, atNorth has a similar arrangement with Kesko Corporation, where heat from the FIN02 data centre is recycled to warm a neighbouring store.

A growing Nordic footprint

atNorth continues to expand its presence across the region. The company operates eight data centres in the Nordics, with a ninth under construction in Kouvola, Finland, and a tenth planned for Ølgod, Denmark.

It has also secured land for a future mega site in Sollefteå Municipality in Sweden.

With DEN01, atNorth is adding a new Danish facility designed from the outset to integrate heat reuse. The collaboration with Vestforbrænding enables the site to contribute to local heating infrastructure while operating at the high densities required for modern compute workloads.