OASiS
A circular resource layer for data centres
Data centres turn almost all the electricity they use into low-temperature heat, and many need large amounts of water for cooling. Today most of that heat is released into the air. OASiS places a circular resource layer next to the data centre, built from MELiSSA technologies, that turns residual heat, cooling water and CO2 into water, energy and food for the site and its region.
OASiS next to a data centre: algae photobioreactors, digesters, a greenhouse and water recovery. Concept illustration.
How it works
- Residual heat keeps greenhouses, algae photobioreactors and digesters at the right temperature all year round.
- CO2 feeds microalgae and greenhouse crops, which turn it into biomass, food and oxygen.
- Cooling and process water is treated and reused on site with MELiSSA water loops instead of being discharged.
- Organic residues from crops and the site are digested into energy and nutrients; a nitrification step turns the nitrogen into fertiliser for the crops.
The modules come from more than 35 years of MELiSSA research on closed loops for life in space, where every gram of water, carbon and nitrogen has to be recovered.
Why now
Under the EU Energy Efficiency Directive (EU) 2023/1791, data centres with a rated energy input above 1 MW must reuse their waste heat or apply other heat recovery, unless they can show that this is not technically or economically feasible, and data centres from 500 kW must report their energy performance every year. OASiS offers operators a way to put that heat to work on or near the site, also where no district heating network is available.
Measured with LOOPSCAN
Each OASiS configuration is evaluated with LOOPSCAN: stream by stream, how much of the need for water, energy and nutrients is covered on site, what still has to come from outside and what is lost.
Status
OASiS is at concept stage; the first pilot site is being selected.
Who we are looking for
- Data centre operators and developers looking for a use for their residual heat
- Technology parks, municipalities and regions that want to link data centres to local food, water and energy
- Growers, algae producers and investors who want to build on the outputs