ThermalWorks, a subsidiary of Endeavour specializing in ultra-efficient, AI-ready waterless cooling systems, has introduced an advanced heat recovery option for its 1 MW and 2 MW chiller plants. This innovation allows data centers to repurpose 100% of their waste heat, transforming it into a carbon-neutral energy source.
By standardizing heat recovery in its modular cooling systems, ThermalWorks eliminates the high capital costs that have previously hindered widespread adoption. The system delivers high-grade heat at 140°F (60°C), making it more useful for industrial applications and community heating.
“Data centers generate significant waste heat, but recovery systems have traditionally been treated as a secondary add-on, which resulted in high expenses and relatively low temperatures,” said ThermalWorks CEO John Costakis. “By fully integrating heat recovery in our next-generation modular chiller plants, we were able to make it more efficient and dramatically increase the temperature of the exported heat. This makes it more valuable for communities and nearby industry. The most exciting thing is that we were able to design that option as a low-cost plug-in cartridge, so waste heat utilization will make financial sense in a lot more places.”
ThermalWorks' cooling technology already achieves industry-leading Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE). With the new heat recovery system, it also becomes one of the most efficient heating solutions. For every 1 kW of power consumed, the system can generate more than 40 kW of heat, with only 25 kW of additional load per megawatt of exported heat. This recovered heat can replace fuel-burning boilers, helping to reduce carbon emissions.
“With AI and high-density computing driving energy demands higher than ever, we need innovative solutions that rethink efficiency at every level,” said Endeavour founder Jakob Carnemark. “The ThermalWorks team has led the industry by eliminating our data centers’ water consumption - and now they’re pushing further ahead with advanced energy recovery. By capturing and repurposing heat, they’re helping turn waste energy into a sustainable asset for communities. This enables data centers to become key contributors to local energy ecosystems.”
The potential impact is significant: A 100 MW AI data center using the new system could supply enough heat for a large industrial campus, more than 80 large warehouses, or over 30,000 U.S. homes.
ThermalWorks manufactures its waterless cooling systems at global gigawatt-scale production facilities. The new heat recovery feature is now available for its C1000 (1 MW) and C2000 (2 MW) chiller plants.