Equinix & A2A to heat Milan homes with data-centres

Equinix and A2A have agreed to recover heat from Equinix's Milan data centres for use in Milan's district heating network. The project is expected to rank among Europe's largest data-centre heat-export schemes outside the Nordic region.

The arrangement centres on Equinix's campus in Settimo Milanese, where heat generated by servers will be captured and transferred to a new energy centre A2A is building nearby. A2A will then use large heat pumps, thermal storage systems and transport infrastructure to feed that energy into the wider urban network.

The system is designed to supply up to 225 GWh of heat a year when fully operational, increasing the amount of heat distributed through A2A's Milan network by about 20%.

The recovered energy would be enough to meet the heating needs of more than 21,000 homes and could avoid more than 345,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Milan's district heating network already serves major city sites, including the Duomo and Palazzo Reale. The project would extend the use of recovered data-centre heat across a broad area, from the city centre to outer districts.

The deal adds to a broader European effort to use waste heat from digital infrastructure as a local energy source. Data centres produce large amounts of excess heat as servers process and store data, and operators are increasingly exploring ways to redirect that output into nearby heating systems instead of releasing it into the atmosphere.

For Equinix, the project also reflects a wider push by data-centre operators to show that rapidly expanding digital infrastructure can support local energy systems. Demand for computing capacity has risen as businesses move more services online and invest in artificial intelligence, bringing greater scrutiny of the sector's energy use and environmental footprint.

A2A, one of Italy's largest energy groups, has been expanding its district heating and circular economy activities and has already launched other heat-recovery projects in Lombardy. The Milan partnership strengthens its position in a market where utilities are seeking lower-emission heat sources for dense urban areas.

How it works

Under the agreement, Equinix will design and manage the heat-export system on its campus and work with customers whose servers generate the thermal output. A2A's nearby energy centre is set to include four large-scale heat pumps with total capacity of 72 MW, two thermal storage systems with a combined capacity of 6,000 cubic metres, and dedicated infrastructure to move heat into the city network.

The model relies on the steady thermal output of data centres, which can make them useful anchor sources for district heating where suitable network connections are available. The economics and practical viability of such schemes often depend on the density of local heat demand, the distance between the data centre and the network, and the cost of infrastructure upgrades.

Italy has lagged some northern European markets in making data-centre waste heat a regular part of urban energy planning, making the Milan scheme notable in the domestic market. District heating systems are more established in parts of northern Europe, where colder climates and long-standing municipal heat networks have supported similar projects.

Executive comments

Adaire Fox-Martin, Chief Executive Officer and President of Equinix, described the agreement as part of the company's broader approach to linking its operations with community needs.

"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," said Fox-Martin.

"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," she said.

Emanuela Grandi, Managing Director of Equinix Italy, linked the project to broader growth in digital services and artificial intelligence.

"Excess heat is a by-product of the processing power required for digital transformation and AI, but when we redistribute it to the areas surrounding our data centres, we can create tremendous value for our communities while reducing the overall energy needed to heat the area," said Grandi.

"We are very proud of Equinix's efforts and achievements in blazing a trail for data-centre heat export in Europe, and we're applying lessons from those successes to our work in Italy, helping create a market for data-centre heat that can contribute significantly to the country's decarbonisation targets. By scale, this initiative in Italy is expected to become one of the largest data-centre heat-export projects in Europe outside the Nordics," she said.

Noah Nkonge, Heat Export Lead at Equinix, outlined the technical principle behind the project.

"In simple terms, we will create a process to capture and convert residual heat into a form suitable for other uses within the community. Heat export, rather than letting that heat go to waste, is a method for collecting and reusing it in communities near data centres, with the support of energy operators. By capturing and distributing heat generated in data centres, we will be creating a circular economy, reusing materials and products as much as possible to reduce waste and make the most efficient use of valuable resources such as electricity and heat," said Nkonge.

"All over the world, we are keen to develop partnerships that allow us to recover and redeploy this heat for use in local communities, reducing reliance on conventional energy sources. Our work with A2A will allow our data centres to become an even more tangible resource for the city of Milan and the wider Lombardy regional ecosystem, helping create more efficient energy solutions for the benefit of communities and businesses," he said.

Renato Mazzoncini, Chief Executive Officer of A2A, said the utility viewed data centres as strategic assets that should be integrated with energy and sustainability planning.

"Data centres are strategic infrastructure for the competitiveness of the country and for supporting the digital transformation of the economy. Their growth requires models capable of combining technological innovation, energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. From this perspective, heat recovery is a key lever for maximising the value of digital hubs and accelerating the decarbonisation of cities," said Mazzoncini.

"The collaboration with Equinix is fully aligned with our strategy to develop an integrated ecosystem where energy, infrastructure and innovation operate synergistically. Through the investments outlined in the 2035 Plan, and thanks to the group's industrial expertise, we intend to contribute to a strategic sector for Italy while also generating economic, environmental and social value for local communities," he said.