One standard. Two connection classes.
The Thermal Plug defines a standardized connection between a data center's internal cooling loop and an external district-energy network. It has two classes:
- TP_DIRECT — thermal source exports heat directly into the network without conversion. Lowest cost. Highest integration value.
- TP_INDIRECT — thermal source uses an intermediate heat exchanger. Required where network and source temperatures differ materially, or where hydraulic separation is needed for regulatory reasons.
A third configuration, the Three-Port Thermal Plug, adds a Port 3 LiBr absorption chiller — turning waste heat back into chilled water to cool the data center itself. The building cools itself on its own waste heat.
19 parameters. Machine-native from day one.
Every Thermal Plug node exchanges a defined parameter set with the district network operator and the data center operator's energy management system. The canonical set includes thermal capacity, supply and return temperatures, flow rate, time-of-availability profile, connection class, and pressure boundary conditions.
The data model is designed for AAS (Asset Administration Shell) integration — ready for IEC 63278 / IDTA submodels the moment the network operator wants to automate dispatch.
24,215 sources. Classified. Mapped.
Germany's Plattform für Abwärme (BfEE/BAFA) contains 24,215 industrial waste-heat sources required to register by law under the Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG). The complete register has been classified by Thermal Plug compatibility:
- 6,637 sources rated TP_DIRECT — no conversion hardware required
- Aggregate nameplate capacity: 13,160 MW
- 27.4% of all registered sources are TP_DIRECT ready
This is not a theoretical resource. These are named, geolocated, legally-registered industrial heat sources that already exist. The interface goes on the outside of a pipe they already own.
Open the interactive map — all 24,215 sources, classified by Thermal Plug type →
DIN track. CEN working group. Germany to global.
The Thermal Plug is being developed through DIN standardization committee work and European CEN working groups on district heating and cooling systems. The standardization track follows the proven path: national technical consensus first, European harmonization second.
The reference trajectory is the standard that made modern district heating bankable across Europe — same method, applied to the connection interface that makes AI-era compute load into thermal infrastructure.