For data centre developers and operators
Reuse-ready heat, without Hub capex or uptime risk
Under a planned Finnish law, from 2027 a data centre must file its waste-heat plan before construction, and grid connections are being ranked. The Heat Hub ties in at your fence, before your dry coolers, which stay as full backup. You get the heat plan the register, the siting permit and the EU label ask for, with no Heat Hub capex on your books.
What you get
Waste heat reuse that works for you, not against you
- 1
Heat reuse done for you
The Heat Hub takes the heat at the fence all year and the site's project company funds it; at most you co-fund your own tap point. Part of the heat dries biomass for biochar, which earns certified carbon removal credits you can buy for your climate targets.
- 2
Uptime untouched, reuse-ready
The Heat Hub takes heat before your dry coolers, which stay at full capacity. You get “reuse ready: yes” on the EU label and metered, audit-ready data for EED reporting.
- 3
A reason to say yes
New local companies, jobs and products give the municipality and residents a reason to support your project: the social licence data centres now need, and a stronger case for Finland's clean transition siting permit.
Social licence to operate
Heat reuse earns your site its licence to operate
Permits, power and local support now decide where large data centres get built. A Heat Hub turns your heat into local production and jobs.
Society’s acceptance
Local companies, jobs and products give residents and the municipality a reason to say yes to a large site.
Reuse where none was possible
No district heating network nearby? The Heat Hub brings the heat users to your site, so you can build where heat reuse was not otherwise possible.
Access to more power
A site that puts its heat to local use and brings flexible own generation makes a stronger case for a large connection.
Capacity where it costs less
Build where power and land are affordable, far from towns, and still meet reuse requirements and the EU label.
Grid connections
Power, not land, is the bottleneck
Heat reuse itself is not yet a criterion. We think it should be: a data centre that heats local production gives society more for every megawatt it connects, and eastern Finland's cities and chambers of commerce are asking for exactly such local-value criteria.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment's bill ends the first-come grid queue: large connections are processed twice a year, and the first round may come only at the end of 2027. Large data centres sit in priority class 3 and reach class 2 only with flexible own generation of 1 MW or more – which a Heat Hub can bring with biogas CHP, electric boilers and thermal storage run by Avans AI OS. What exactly counts as flexible generation is still open.
Sources: Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, government bill on a grid-connection priority procedure (Yle, 10 Oct 2026); Fingrid statement, 9 Oct 2026; consultation statements of Kouvola and the North Karelia Chamber of Commerce (Yle, 11 Oct 2026); Fingrid-lehti, 30 Sep 2026.
What you receive
What the pre-feasibility study delivers
- Heat balance from your cooling design: capacity, temperatures, load phasing
- Tie-in at the fence: temperatures, sizing and metering
- Heat user portfolio and a calculated reuse figure for permits, EED and the EU label
- Commercial outline: heat purchase terms, project company model, funding options
The path after the study
- 1 Pre-feasibility study
- €50,000
- 2 Blueprint for the SPV and heat purchase agreement
- Priced per site
- 3 Build and operate by the project company
- No Hub capex for you
Study fees are credited against the system delivery when the project goes ahead. Works for liquid-cooled, hybrid and air-cooled sites; the earlier in design, the lower the cost. Data is shared under NDA. Prices excl. VAT.
Next steps
Moving forward is simple
- 01
30-minute call under NDA
We go through your site, cooling design and timeline.
- 02
Data review and proposal
We review your design data and send a fixed-price proposal.
- 03
Study kick-off
A kick-off workshop locks the system boundary and the decision questions.
FAQ
Questions operators ask
Does heat reuse put the data centre's uptime at risk?
No. The Heat Hub ties into the return pipe at the fence, before the dry coolers, and the data centre keeps 100% dry-cooler capacity as backup. If the Hub stops, the data centre cools as before, so Avans carries no cooling liability.
What does “waste heat reuse ready” mean on the EU data-centre label?
The EU data-centre rating scheme, adopted by the Commission on 21 September 2026 and in force after EU scrutiny and publication, shows a yes/no for “waste heat reuse ready”: the data centre is designed or retrofitted to capture and provide waste heat to external users at its boundary, with heat exchangers, dedicated hydraulic loops and thermal metering, whether or not a heat network exists yet. The Heat Hub's tie-in at the fence is exactly that.
Who pays for the heat reuse infrastructure?
An Avans Heat Hub project company is set up next to the data centre. Investors fund the Heat Hub, so the data centre needs no Hub capex on its own books; at most it co-funds its own tap point. Raw heat at the fence has little market value, so the deal is reuse done for you, not a heat payment.
Next step
Make your site reuse-ready
Tell us about your site and timeline. We'll propose the right scope for the pre-feasibility study.
What happens next
- 1A 30-minute call: heat, possible users, timeline
- 2Together we check fit, schedule and funding options
- 3You get a fixed-price pre-study proposal, credited against the system delivery