2026/01/01 by Kohei Nishiyama, Sangjic Lee, Hideyoshi Yanagisawa +1
Engineering · #Process Optimization and Integration #Sustainable Industrial Ecology #Heat Transfer and Optimization
paper · doi:10.1016/j.cirp.2026.04.103
This study assesses the feasibility of utilising waste heat from co-located data centres for manufacturing heat-treatment processes. AI-driven expansion of data centres increases waste heat discharge, yet many manufacturing processes require thermal energy. We model the collaboration between heat demanders (manufacturers) and heat providers (data centres) as a cooperative game, where one-to-one heat-transfer matching delivers operating-cost savings. Under cost-function homogeneity, we show that the game is supermodular, yielding a nonempty core and a Shapley value in it. A case study in Japan’s Inzai–Shiroi area indicates substantial value creation, with most gains accruing to manufacturers through reduced thermal energy costs.