The UK government is investing £90 million to expand heat networks that capture excess heat from datacenters and factories to warm homes, reducing reliance on gas for domestic heating. The scheme targets more than 750,000 homes across the country, with a flagship "mega project" for London claiming it will supply 650,000 homes with clean heat via infrastructure under the River Thames, following models successfully operating in Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Vienna and Berlin.

The London initiative receives £41 million in funding, with electric barges expected to transport hot water from a waste plant near Bexley from 2028, though plans for underground tunnels—which would be more permanent—are hoped for the 2030s with no confirmed budget yet. Despite public support being strong (60 per cent of Britons favour making datacenter planning conditional on heat sharing), concerns exist about practical efficiency, as datacenter waste heat often requires additional heat pump systems that consume more energy, and most UK heat networks currently use outdated third-generation systems rather than newer fifth-generation designs. Questions also linger about timescales, given that similar infrastructure projects like the Thames super sewer took nine years and cost £5 billion.