On 2 October 2025, Luca Socci from Università degli Studi di Firenze represented the THUNDER Project at the 2Cool2Waste Projects Cluster Webinar, an event that brought together 11 EU sister projects to exchange innovative solutions aimed at reducing waste, enhancing circularity, and promoting sustainable energy systems across Europe.
A Collaborative Effort for a Circular Energy Future
The 2Cool2Waste cluster event provided a platform for projects tackling the challenges of waste heat recovery, energy efficiency, and decarbonization to share their progress and insights. Participants explored how cutting-edge technologies can transform excess heat from industries and data centres into valuable energy resources.
The participating projects and their presentation titles were:
- GEOSYN – Cutting costs & boosting efficiency with advanced heat pumps
- HEATWISE – Reusing data centres’ waste heat
- Hycool-IT – Server room waste heat recovery
- Push2Heat – Unlocking the potential of waste heat
- RE-WITCH – Renewable & waste heat valorisation in industries
- SEEDS – Electrified heating & cooling for flexibility
- SENERGY NETS – Optimizing multi-energy systems
- SPIRIT – High-temp heat pumps for food, beverage & paper industries
- SUSHEAT – High-temperature heat pumps & TES
- THUNDER – Heat pumps & storage for data centre waste heat valorisation
THUNDER’s Contribution: Turning Data Centre Waste Heat into Opportunity
In his presentation titled “Heat Pumps & Storage for Data Centre Waste Heat Valorisation”, Luca Socci highlighted how THUNDER is developing innovative heat pump technologies and thermal energy storage solutions to capture and reuse waste heat from data centres.
This approach supports the creation of more efficient, low-carbon energy systems, contributing to the EU’s climate and energy goals. By valorising excess heat, THUNDER aims to reduce energy waste and enhance system flexibility, paving the way for a more sustainable digital infrastructure.
“Data centres are energy-intensive, but with the right technologies, their waste heat can become a valuable resource for local heating networks and other applications,” said Luca Socci during the event.
Watch the Presentation
Missed the session? You can watch the full recording of the 2Cool2Waste webinar.
👉 THUNDER presentation starts at 01:16:22