Bitcoin mining company Marathon Digital Holdings, the world’s largest crypto mining operation, has launched a pilot project to use excess heat from its data center in Finland to warm a nearby town, providing a new clean energy source for nearly 11,000 residents.
The innovative program, first announced by the company last week, will use the waste heat generated by servers at the two-megawatt facility in Finland’s Satakunta region. The water will then be pushed through an underground network of pipes to heat nearby buildings. This technique, known as “district heating” has been widely adopted under Finland’s green energy initiatives, but Marathon’s involvement in the district heating project marks the first time the system has incorporated a data center to reduce carbon emissions and operating costs.
In Finland, we launched a 2-megawatt pilot project to warm a community of 11,000 residents with recycled heat from digital asset computing. Take a look: pic.twitter.com/eIIlncxD3I
— MARA (@MarathonDH) June 20, 2024
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“This pilot project in Finland is a critical step forward in our strategy to expand globally and innovate sustainably,” said Fred Thiel, Marathon’s chairman and CEO. “We are not just producing digital assets; we are heating homes and integrating sustainable practices into our business model. We believe that this kind of innovation can drive the advancement of the digital asset compute industry and further strengthen Marathon’s leading position in the field.”
Data centers in Europe typically consume double the global average of electricity, accounting for 3 percent of the European Union’s overall energy usage.
In a full report detailing the plan, Marathon provides a concise breakdown of how the system will work for the mutual benefit of both the company and the local population.
“Europe’s colder climate has given rise to an extensive network of district heating systems that provide warmth to millions of residents,” the Heating with Hashes report said. “This same climate has attracted a different industry – data centers – which benefit from reduced energy consumption and infrastructure costs associated with the cooler temperatures. The share of electricity consumed by data centers in the EU is at least double the global average, with data centers accounting for around 3% of the EU’s electricity consumption compared, to 1.0-1.5% globally. These energy-intensive facilities generate 3 significant amounts of heat, creating a unique opportunity for strategic partnerships with district heating systems.”
“One industry needs heat, while the other generates plenty of it,” Marathon continued. “Instead of wasting the abundant heat produced by data centers, it could be recycled to meet heating demand. This innovation transforms an unwanted byproduct of data centers into a valuable resource for district heating systems, reducing costs and waste for everyone involved while reducing the need for inefficient, carbon-emitting heat sources.”
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Marathon Digital Holdings currently operates 12 data centers across four continents. The company has become an industry leader in sustainable energy practices, including a separate pilot project in Utah that used methane gas from landfills to power Bitcoin mining processors.
According to Future Market Insights, the district heating market is expected to grow from $198 billion to $340 billion by 2033.
The full report from Marathon Digital Holdings can be read below:
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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