Equinix has entered into a partnership with A2A, aimed at recovering excess heat generated by data centres in Milan, Italy and integrating it into the city’s district heating network.
The collaboration involves Equinix’s campus in Settimo Milanese, where heat from servers will be collected and transferred for use in local heating systems through A2A’s infrastructure.
Access deeper industry intelligence
Experience unmatched clarity with a single platform that combines unique data, AI, and human expertise.
Equinix will design and oversee the system for heat export from its campus, working in partnership with multiple stakeholders, including its customers, whose servers act as the heat source in the data centre.
This aims to ensure that the thermal energy produced by data processing activities is accessible.
The collected heat will be sent to a newly constructed A2A Energy Center, located near the data centre campus.
At the Energy Center, four large-scale heat pumps with a total 72MW capacity, along with two thermal storage units holding 6,000m³, will process and store the heat before it is distributed into Milan’s urban network.
Once fully operational, the initiative expects to recover up to 225GWh of thermal energy each year.
This would increase the amount of heat provided through A2A Group’s Milan network by approximately 20% and is projected to meet the annual heating needs of over 21,000 homes.
Equinix stated that using data centre heat this way could avoid more than 345,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually.
A2A will expand its district heating network to deliver the recovered heat across the city, including areas as far as the centre and outskirts. Existing networks already serve landmarks such as the Duomo and Palazzo Reale.
The company has previously launched similar heat recovery projects in Lombardy and aims to integrate more decarbonised sources into its networks.
Equinix CEO and president Adaire Fox-Martin said: “Equinix has a long and proud history of aligning the needs of our business with the needs of the communities we call home.
“Our collaboration with A2A is a clear example of how essential digital infrastructure and local sustainability goals can work in service of each other.
“By putting thermal energy from our operations to use for local homes and residents, we’re eliminating waste and moving Milan toward a low-carbon future.”
