Enabling grid-interactive data center-desalination coordination through thermo-electric coupling-based waste heat utilization

The concurrent global expansion of data centers and seawater desalination presents a critical energy-water nexus challenge: the former are massive energy consumers generating vast quantities of waste heat, while the latter is an energy-intensive process vital for water security. This paper introduces a transformative paradigm for the synergistic integration of flexible data centers with thermo-electric desalination systems, re-conceptualizing the waste heat of data centers from an operational liability into a valuable resource for grid flexibility and sustainable water production. A key contribution is a novel, high-fidelity thermo-electric model. For the first time, this model directly embeds the complex physical dynamics of waste heat utilization, which links seawater preheating to its impact on temperature- and salinity-dependent reverse osmosis efficiency, within an integrated planning and operational optimization model. Based on this model, we propose a holistic framework that co-optimizes the long-term investment planning and short-term operational dispatch of this coupled infrastructure. The integrated planning and operation problem is formulated as a two-stage stochastic MINLP and solved via a computationally efficient algorithm combining Benders decomposition with McCormick envelope linearization. A realistic case study demonstrates that the proposed framework achieves a remarkable 86.5% reduction in total annualized costs compared to conventional configurations, with the waste-heat synergy alone accounting for a 17% cost saving. The findings establish a viable and highly profitable blueprint for coupling the energy, water, and data sectors, offering a new frontier of flexibility for smart grids and a scalable model for future carbon-neutral industrial ecosystems.