Huiyuan Cowins Technology’s Phase-Change Material Technology Lowers Data Center Cooling Costs Waste Heat Recovery Project Meets AI Industry Demand for Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction

(19 January 2026, Hong Kong) Huiyuan Cowins Technology Group Limited (“Huiyuan Cowins Technology”, together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”; stock code: 1116.HK) is pleased to announce that the Group has achieved significant progress in the application of its phase-change material business in artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. The Group’s Zhongnong Meiya (Huailai) Zero-Carbon Agriculture Demonstration Park (“Huailai Project”), leveraging its self-developed phase-change materials (PCM) technology and taking data centers as the core heat source, has successfully built an integrated clean heating system of "data center waste heat – temperature-controlled farming – residential heating". This system offers a replicable solution to the seasonal energy supply-demand imbalance in northern China and advances the development of green computing power. By creating a high-value commercial pathway for data center waste heat, it significantly reduces cooling costs and lowers carbon emission intensity, contributing to China’s “dual carbon” goals.

 

The Huailai Project was jointly developed by the Group, the U.K.-based Environmental Process Systems Limited, and Tsinghua University. It is China’s first demonstration project for waste heat recovery from AI data centers. Its core breakthrough is the Group’s self-developed PCM technology, engineered through nanomodification of eutectic salts. This technology delivers an ultra-long cycle life and achieves energy savings of up to 60%, with multiple related invention patents granted. In the Huailai Project, the technology has shown strong adaptability across different scenarios. A high efficiency water source heat pump system upgrades large volumes of waste hot water generated during data center operations to a usable temperature of 55°C. An AI scheduling system then dynamically allocates this heat according to real-time demand. During peak heating periods, it supplies surrounding greenhouses and residential communities; during off peak periods, it stores surplus heat in phase-change energy storage devices together with solar heat from onsite photovoltaic stations. This effectively addresses wintertime energy imbalance in northern China. The project is expected to provide stable and clean heating to nearby communities, delivering over 75,000 GJ of heat annually (approximately 20.83 million kWh), and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than 4,000 tons of carbon dioxide, turning waste into a valuable resource.

 

In commercial operation, the Huailai Project reached break-even within one year of commencement. It now serves as a demonstration project and a technical prototype for AI data center waste heat recovery. Its mature solution can be replicated across data centers in China, providing clean energy support for communities and agricultural applications such as premium fruit and vegetable cultivation and edible fungi breeding, while also supporting the achievement of regional carbon peaking goals. Meanwhile, the Group’s Karamay Liquid-Cooled Data Center Demonstration Project, another flagship project, has commenced. The Group will continue to align with global technological development trends, expand PCM applications in data centers, and address the core needs of the AI industry for lower energy consumption and carbon emissions.

 

As global digitalization accelerates, demand for data centers continues to rise. China’s data center market is also expanding rapidly, with approximately 450 facilities in operation as of October 2025. The "East-to-West Computing Resource Transfer" initiative, the accelerated clean energy transition under the national "15th Five-Year Plan", and multi-level government subsidies and policies for the PCM sector provide substantial market potential for the Group’s data center waste heat recovery business. In the future, the Group will continue to drive the efficient conversion of data center waste heat and contribute to the industry’s green transformation.

 

The Group’s strong technological capabilities and industry recognition provide a solid foundation for growth. It has been named a national "Little Giant" enterprise and has received multiple authoritative honors, including recognition by CCTV’s “Strong Country Intelligent Manufacturing” program and the Green Factory Certification. In terms of R&D and standards setting, the Group has accumulated 45 core patents and has led or participated in the formulation of several national and group standards. These achievements provide authoritative technical support for standardized project implementation and healthy industry development.

 

Mr. Tai Yiu Kuen, Kevin, the Chief Executive Officer of Huiyuan Cowins Technology Group Limited stated, “We are greatly encouraged by the success of our PCM business in waste heat recovery in China’s data center industry and are confident in our future business growth. The Huailai Project integrates cutting-edge international technologies with market resources in China, fully demonstrating our technological leadership and competitive advantages in the PCM field. Looking ahead, we will capitalize on supportive national policies and the expansion of the data center market, continue to upgrade green and low-carbon computing power, and inject sustained technological momentum into China’s green and low-carbon transition."

 

- END -

 

About Huiyuan Cowins Technology Group Limited

Huiyuan Cowins Technology Group Limited (stock code: 1116.HK) has been deeply engaged in the steel pipe and steel sector for over 30 years and is a benchmark brand in China's stainless steel water pipe industry, with full-chain capabilities in “independent R&D – production manufacturing.” Its main businesses cover stainless steel water pipes and fittings, carbon steel plate shearing, pipeline direct drinking water solutions, and extend to the phase change energy storage technology field.

 

Since 2023, the Group has accelerated its expansion into the energy storage business, focusing on the R&D and production of phase-change energy storage materials (PCM), providing customized cold storage and heat storage solutions for customers in various industries. The company was listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited in 2004. For more details, please visit its official company website: https://www.hctechgp.com.