NTT도코모는 도쿄시의 데이터센터 폐열 활용 사업의 일환으로, 일본 내륙 새우 양식장에서 데이터센터 폐열을 재활용하는 시범 사업을 추진할 예정이다.

NTT is set to pilot the use of waste heat from a data center in Japan to warm an on-land shrimp farm.

IMT Engineering and NTT Docomo Building this week announced plans for a joint project, known as "Construction of a Waste Heat Utilization Type Land-Based Aquaculture System." The project will begin next year, when waste heat from an NTT Docomo Business data center will be used to raise aquaculture crops on land.

The deployment will run until March 2028 at an NTT Docomo Business data center in or near Tokyo. The recovered heat will be used to warm the rearing water in which Pacific white shrimp are raised.

NTT said the aim is to "demonstrate a new option for utilizing waste heat from data centers, which has previously had limited uses due to its relatively low temperature, by using it for food production."

Working with Hibiya General Equipment and NTT Green & Food, the four firms aim to verify the cost reduction effect and business viability of land-based aquaculture that uses waste heat from data centers. They also aim to establish a business model that can be deployed at other data centers.

IMT will design the land-based aquaculture system. NTT Docomo will provide the data center. Hibiya General Equipment will design and build the waste heat recovery and heat supply equipment. NTT Green & Food will operate the land-based aquaculture and evaluate how effectively data center waste heat reduces production costs.

NTT Green & Food was established in 2023 alongside regional fisheries operator Regional Fish. The company produces and sells eco-friendly fish and shellfish, as well as the algae used for their feed, primarily through land-based aquaculture.

The project is part of a Tokyo Metropolitan Government initiative that supports demonstration projects for using waste heat and other unused heat from data centers. Other projects in the initiative include:

- KDDI working with ElleThermo to deploy a self-powered temperature sensing system that can generate electricity from low-grade heat of around 20–40°C.

- Kratwerk Co. and Tokyu Construction Co. using waste heat from a small modular data center located under a railway overpass to cool servers.

In Japan, NTT Docomo currently operates data centers around Tokyo (seven), Yokohama, Osaka (two), and Kagawa under the Nexcenter name. The company also operates a facility in Shanghai, China, and two in Hong Kong.

Waste heat has been used for various agricultural purposes, including greenhouses and aquafarms. Equinix in Paris, EcoDataCenter in Sweden (which has a partnership with circular economy firm Wa3rm), and Block Heating in the Netherlands (which has a facility co-located with a greenhouse growing tomatoes) have all put waste heat to such uses. In Japan, the White Data Center uses waste heat to cultivate eels, while Green Mountain is providing warmth to a local lobster farm in Norway. Data4 has experimented with using waste heat in France to grow algae.