Heat recovery retrofits
We design schemes that capture heat from existing data centres and pipe it to buildings nearby. Specialist contractors install them. We never do the installation ourselves.
RetrofitsSame AI workload, run on:
A heat source that happens to run AI.
We develop projects that capture waste heat from data centres and deliver it to hospitals, leisure centres and homes. We take each one from an idea on a map to ready to build, then hand it to the people who will own and run it.
Illustrative flows in MW for one AI workload, including the electricity the heat pumps use to lift heat to network temperature.
Three ways into the same heat
Each route ends the same way: a heat supply that’s designed, consented and funded, ready for someone else to build and run.
Heat-ready new builds
We join data centre engineering firms as the heat specialist on new schemes. The heat is designed in from the start, not added later.
New buildsMicro data centres
2–5 MW sites on industrial units, running refurbished A100 and H100 GPUs. They sell UK-owned compute, and their heat goes into the network.
Micro data centresWhy this works now
UK policy is creating demand for low-carbon heat that can actually be contracted. Data centres have heat and nowhere to send it.
Zoning is coming
Heat network zoning will mark out parts of England where a heat network is the cheapest low-carbon option, and some buildings there will have to connect. Each zone needs heat sources it can sign contracts with.
For councilsOfgem regulates heat networks
From 2026, heat networks come under Ofgem regulation, with consumer protection and technical standards to meet. Operators want partners who design to those rules from the start.
What it meansOld chips, more heat
Previous-generation GPUs use more electricity for the same work. Nearly all of that electricity ends up as heat. On a heat network, that isn’t waste: it’s more heat to sell.
The hidden synergyUK data on UK-owned hardware
NHS bodies, councils, law firms, banks and defence suppliers need AI inference on sensitive data, run by a company outside the reach of the US CLOUD Act. Our micro data centres will be UK-owned and located in the UK. They'll run capable open-weight models on proven, refurbished hardware.
Where do you fit?
We work with four kinds of partner. Each has its own page, written for them.
- Councils & heat network operatorsA local heat source you can put under contract, with zoning and Ofgem regulation in mind.
- Data centre operatorsPlanning condition on heat recovery? Hand it to us. You don't take on any contractor risk.
- Sovereign compute buyersInference on sensitive UK data, owned and run in the UK.
- Funds & investorsA pipeline of ready-to-build heat projects, and a clear revenue model.
We’re early, and we’d rather say so.
Residual is a founder-led developer looking for its first point-to-point projects. If you have heat, a site, or a building that needs low-carbon heat, we’d like to hear from you.