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RETHERMIQ
October 2026 to October 2027, cooperation project with deltadrai GmbH
ReThermiQ | Computing power and heat from used data centre hardware.
ReThermiQ links the demand for computing power for AI applications with the demand for heat. Used (refurbished) data centre hardware is to be operated locally wherever heat is needed, delivering computing power and heat at the same time.
COMPUTING POWER AND HEAT AT ONCE, FROM HARDWARE THAT LASTS LONGER.
WHAT WE WORK ON IN RETHERMIQ
What it is about
The waste heat can be used for hot water in hotels and care facilities, in housing, or as process heat in industry and trade. The computing power is to be offered as a managed service, especially for non-time-critical tasks and applications that require data sovereignty. The project is carried out by a consortium of deltadrai GmbH (project lead) and Thinkubator - Verein zur Forschung und Umsetzung nachhaltiger Lösungen.
What is developed
ReThermiQ develops the technical, economic and ecological foundations for this approach. Refurbished hardware is classified by thermal and computing performance, and procurement channels and repair partners are analysed. A software architecture is to combine different hardware generations into one platform and test how AI models can run across several sites. A concept for the thermal value chain examines for which customer groups the combination of computing load and heat demand is economically viable, and describes maintenance and security at decentralised sites. The project concludes with market validation covering stakeholder needs, a business model and a roadmap for further implementation.
Our role
The circular perspective runs through the whole project: hardware should be used for longer, repairability considered from the start and dependence on global supply chains reduced. We contribute to all work packages and lead the work package on the circular perspective. There we research end-of-life recovery pathways for the components, discuss them with experts from data centre operations, waste management, refurbishment and recycling, and analyse them in a material flow analysis focusing on GPUs and RAM modules. A Circular Decision Matrix based on the 10R framework by Potting et al. (2017) turns the results into recommendations.
QUESTIONS ABOUT RETHERMIQ?
Do you need heat, have data centre hardware or want to know more about the project? Get in touch.
Bastien Huber
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