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This research is part of the WEDISTRICT project, funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement N degrees 857801.

Analysis of institutional authors

Rodriguez, Javier PerezCorresponding AuthorAlmeida, Juan Manuel De AndresAuthorHidalgo-Carvajal, DavidAuthorAbanades, AlbertoAuthor

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October 15, 2024
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Environmental and Social Life Cycle Assessment of Data Centre Heat Recovery Technologies Combined with Fuel Cells for Energy Generation

Publicated to:Energies. 17 (18): 4745- - 2024-09-01 17(18), DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/en17184745

Authors: Bejarano, Camila Andrea Puentes; Rodriguez, Javier Perez; Almeida, Juan Manuel de Andres; Hidalgo-Carvajal, David; Gustaffson, Jonas; Summers, Jon; Abanades, Alberto

Affiliations

Res Inst Sweden, S-43153 Lulea, Sweden - Author
Univ Politecn Madrid, Dept Chem & Environm Engn, Madrid 28006, Spain - Author
Univ Politecn Madrid, Dept Org Engn Business Adm & Stat, Madrid 28006, Spain - Author
Univ Politecn Madrid, Energy Engn Dept, Madrid 28006, Spain - Author
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Abstract

The energy sector is essential in the transition to a more sustainable future, and renewable energies will play a key role in achieving this. It is also a sector in which the circular economy presents an opportunity for the utilisation of other resources and residual energy flows. This study examines the environmental and social performance of innovative energy technologies (which contribute to the circularity of resources) implemented in a demonstrator site in Lule & aring; (Sweden). The demo-site collected excess heat from a data centre to cogenerate energy, combining the waste heat with fuel cells that use biogas derived from waste, meeting part of its electrical demand and supplying thermal energy to an existing district heating network. Following a cradle-to-gate approach, an environmental and a social life cycle assessment were developed to compare two scenarios: a baseline scenario reflecting current energy supply methods and the WEDISTRICT scenario, which considers the application of different renewable and circular technologies. The findings indicate that transitioning to renewable energy sources significantly reduces environmental impacts in seven of the eight assessed impact categories. Specifically, the study showed a 48% reduction in climate change impact per kWh generated. Additionally, the WEDISTRICT scenario, accounting for avoided burdens, prevented 0.21 kg CO2 eq per kWh auto-consumed. From the social perspective, the WEDISTRICT scenario demonstrated improvement in employment conditions within the worker and local community categories, product satisfaction within the society category, and fair competition within the value chain category. Projects like WEDISTRICT demonstrate the circularity options of the energy sector, the utilisation of resources and residual energy flows, and that these lead to environmental and social improvements throughout the entire life cycle, not just during the operation phase.

Keywords

AcidificatioBiogasCircular economyClean energyData centreDatacenterDistrict heatinDistrict heatingEconomic and social effectsEnergyEnergy efficiencyEnergy flowEnergy generationsEnergy sectorEutrophicationHeat recoveryImpact assessmentLcaModelPart 1Recovery technologyRenewable energyResidual energyS-lcaSocial lifeSofcSustainabilitySustainable developmentSystemsWaste heatWaste heat utilization

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Energies due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency Scopus (SJR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2024 there are still no calculated indicators, but in 2023, it was in position , thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Engineering (Miscellaneous).

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-10-29:

  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 26 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

    It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

    • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.
    • Assignment of a Handle/URN as an identifier within the deposit in the Institutional Repository: https://oa.upm.es/89299/

    As a result of the publication of the work in the institutional repository, statistical usage data has been obtained that reflects its impact. In terms of dissemination, we can state that, as of

    • Views: 126
    • Downloads: 22

    Leadership analysis of institutional authors

    This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Sweden.

    There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Bejarano, Camila Andrea Puentes) and Last Author (ABANADES VELASCO, ALBERTO).

    the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been PEREZ RODRIGUEZ, JAVIER.