New video — MODERATOR at Thematic Track: Data Centers, Digital Twins & AI for Sustainability

The MODERATOR project was featured at the Sustainable Places Conference 2025 in Milan, within the thematic track “Data centres, digital twins & AI for sustainability”, a strategic forum bringing together researchers, technology providers, and industry stakeholders to explore how digital technologies can accelerate sustainability in the built environment.

During the session, Yannick Krabben from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU) presented MODERATOR’s approach to waste heat recovery in data centres, highlighting how immersion cooling, thermal energy storage, and advanced insulation materials can transform low-grade waste heat into a valuable energy resource. The presentation provided an overview of the project’s integrated system, which combines a 40 kW immersion cooling unit, phase change material (PCM)-based thermal storage, and multi-layer insulation to enable efficient heat capture, storage, and reuse across multiple applications.

The talk also showcased MODERATOR’s ongoing work on material development, system scalability, and real-world case studies across different sectors, including buildings, industry, agriculture, and aquaculture. By focusing on modularity and adaptability, the project demonstrates how data centres can evolve from energy-intensive infrastructures into active contributors to circular energy systems and local sustainability.

The participation in Sustainable Places 2025 underlined the relevance of MODERATOR’s research within Europe’s green and digital transitions, illustrating how digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and advanced thermal technologies can jointly enhance energy efficiency, resilience, and decarbonisation.

Watch the MODERATOR presentation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgKzj9bN7D8

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