MODERATOR Project Advances Sustainable Digital Infrastructure With Innovative Cooling Technology

The EU-funded MODERATOR project has reached a significant milestone in advancing energy-efficient and climate-conscious data centre operations. As a key partner, CoolBlock (powered by Synapsecom) has successfully developed and validated a next-generation immersion cooling tank, engineered to substantially reduce power consumption while enabling waste-heat recovery for integration into local energy systems. This breakthrough marks an important step toward building sustainable, circular, and resilient digital infrastructures across Europe, reinforcing the project’s commitment to innovation and environmental responsibility.

The MODERATOR project is driving a fundamental transformation of data centres, shifting them from traditionally energy-intensive infrastructures into active enablers of Europe’s green and digital transitions. Through the development of innovative technologies in immersion cooling, waste-heat recovery, and intelligent energy management, MODERATOR is designed to reduce carbon emissions, lower operational costs, and accelerate the integration of data centres into local energy ecosystems. This initiative underscores Europe’s commitment to building sustainable, efficient, and future-ready digital infrastructures that align with both environmental responsibility and technological progress.

The project team finalized the technical specifications for a 40 kW immersion cooling system, incorporating an advanced X‑520 tank design, engineering all subsystems to maximize availability and minimize operational risk. The system architecture was optimized for seamless integration with waste-heat recovery, supported by extensive studies that defined an operating temperature window balancing equipment safety and performance. The full system—including the tank, dielectric coolant, circulation loop, and thermal exchange mechanisms—was constructed, assembled, and tested to validate reliability and scalability, with local and remote monitoring installed to ensure continuous oversight and rapid incident response.

Key Results & Outcomes

• Stable and reliable cooling of IT loads up to 40 kW.
• Full subsystem redundancy and monitoring for high availability and reduced operational risk.
• Established foundation for waste-heat recovery and future energy reuse.
• Defined operating temperature window ensuring IT safety and energy efficiency.
• Modular system design supporting scalability and future expansion.

This development demonstrates the potential for European data centres to evolve into active contributors to the circular energy economy. By implementing immersion cooling and waste-heat recovery technologies, operators can achieve substantial reductions in energy consumption and carbon emissions, while simultaneously creating tangible value for local communities through the reuse of recovered heat. Such advancements highlight the role of data centres not only as digital infrastructure, but also as integrated energy assets that support Europe’s broader sustainability and climate goals.

At CoolBlock, we believe data centres must evolve from being energy consumers into energy contributors. By reducing power consumption and enabling waste-heat recovery, we are not only lowering the carbon footprint of digital infrastructure but also creating new value for local communities.

- CEO of CoolBlock

The integrated system will be showcased at SYNAPSECOM’s facilities, within an application-relevant environment. During this demonstration, various heat recovery and reutilization options, including the production of hot water, space heating and electricity generation via an advanced Organic Rankine Cycle unit, will be explored and evaluated. In the final phase, a comprehensive assessment of the system will be conducted, focusing on its scalability, techno-economic viability, and environmental performance in order to attract the interest of the industrial sector and of relevant stakeholders.

Learn more about the MODERATOR project and its latest innovations in data-center sustainability:

Website: https://moderatorproject.eu

YouTube: @moderatorprojecteu

LinkedIn: @moderatorproeu

X (Twitter): @moderatorproeu

Funded by the European Union under Horizon Europe, MODERATOR unites 11 partners across Europe and Switzerland to transform data centres into sustainable and energy-efficient infrastructures.

MODERATOR project is co-funded by the European Union’s HORIZON Innovation Actions under grant agreement No 101136156. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.