AI-Powered Software and Immersion Cooling Gains Traction With Bitcoin Miners
AI-Powered Software and Immersion Cooling Gains Traction With Bitcoin Miners
Bitcoin miners are using new technologies like AI software and immersion cooling to help ensure-energy efficient operations.
Reporter Rachel Wolfson Reporter Rachel Wolfson About Author Rachel Wolfson has been covering the cryptocurrency, blockchain and Web3 sector since 2017. She has written for Forbes and Cointelegraph and is the host and founder of Web3 Deep Dive podcast. Author Profile Share Copied Last updated: August 9, 2024 05:25 EDT
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Energy consumption is one of the most controversial topics when it comes to Bitcoin (BTC). While Bitcoin mining can help balance power grids, the concept still faces criticism for its power usage.
For example, Harvard Business Review published an article in 2021 detailing how Bitcoin mining can consume more energy than a “small country.”
While this may have once been the case, the crypto mining industry has advanced greatly over the years. Miners are now using different technologies to ensure efficient operations.
AI-Powered Solution For Curtailment
Unsurprisingly, artificial intelligence (AI) is helping some Bitcoin miners with energy management.
Joe Hayden, Vice President of Revenue at GridBeyond North America – an AI-powered energy company – told Cryptonews that artificial intelligence will play a crucial role in enhancing energy curtailment for miners.
Hayden explained that GridBeyond recently announced a strategic partnership with energy curtailment software provider OBM, Inc. Hayden noted that GridBeyond’s AI-based management solution will be used together with OBM’s Foreman software.
Daniel Lawrence, CEO and Founder of OBM, Inc., told Cryptonews that Foreman provides the ability to fully automate a customer’s participation in curtailment programs.
For example, Texas – which has the largest Bitcoin mining footprint in the U.S. – has a curtailment program in place with ERCOT for miners to power off operations when energy use is in high demand.
Hayden mentioned that GridBeyond’s AI-solution will integrate with OBM’s Foreman software to provide predictive insights and accurate energy forecasting.
“This integration will allow mining operators to not only automate and optimize their energy curtailment during peak grid demand, swiftly and efficiently reducing their energy load, but it will also help avoid and reduce unnecessary curtailment dispatches,” Hayden said.
According to Hayden, AI will ensure that a miner’s load is managed intelligently, leading to improved grid reliability and operational efficiency. This is important, given that Bitcoin miners can immediately pivot when there’s peak energy demand.
Demand Response is when a miner curtails or cuts back electricity consumption during peak demand. Automated software layer solutions are improving reaction time even more and AI will likely play a critical role moving forward.
Curtailment Software Used Frequently By Bitcoin Miners
While it’s notable that AI is starting to be applied to curtailment software, it’s important to note that many miners today use general software solutions to help with operations.
Asher Genoot, CEO of Hut8 Corp. – one of North America’s largest Bitcoin miners – told Cryptonews that Hut8 leverages a proprietary curtailment software called “Reactor.”
“We use this to algorithmically adjust miner-level energy consumption when the cost of energy exceeds expected revenues,” Genoot said. “Doing so allows us to automate site operations and reduce our sites’ realized energy cost.”
Genoot shared that Hut8 has seen a material decline in the firm’s average energy cost as a result of completing the rollout of this software. He added this was achieved together with the other optimization efforts Hut8 has undertaken over the past 6 months.
In April, amidst the backdrop of the halving, the operational capabilities of our team enabled us to maximize our deployed hashrate by completing the relocation of our fleet from hosted to owned facilities and bringing new capacity.⚡
Highlights below:
– 63 MW brought online at… pic.twitter.com/ekz5sAdWFT — Hut 8 (@Hut8Corp) May 6, 2024
Genoot further mentioned that using Reactor to curtail operations when the cost of energy exceeded $90 per megawatt-hour in 2023 may have resulted in a savings of approximately 56% at a curtailment rate of just under 9%. This prediction is based on ERCOT West Load Zone Real-Time Market prices.
Immersion Cooling Tech Gains Traction
In addition to software solutions, immersion cooling has become a popular option for crypto miners.
Immersion cooling is a method of removing heat from computing hardware by submerging machines in a non-conductive coolant. This is important for miners, as many face challenges in thermal management and heat generated by mining servers. This can impact operations, sustainability and profitability.
Taras Kulyk, Co-Founder and CEO of Synteq Digital – a digital-mining service provider – told Cryptonews that Synteq has been helping a number of mining companies integrate state of the art Rosseau Immersion infrastructure.
“This technique uses patented single phase thermal management technology, materially increasing stock efficiency from digital mining servers as well as AI/HPC servers,” Kulyk said.
Shedding light on this, Taylor Monnig – Chief Technology Officer at mining company CleanSpark – told Cryptonews that CleanSpark utilizes immersion cooling at its operations located in hot climates.
“This method helps keep mining machines at lower and stable temperatures, which increases the efficiency dramatically and eliminates the need for fans to cool machines,” Monnig said.
Monnig shared that CleanSpark currently operates 20 megawatts (MWs), single phase, open bath immersion cooling at its Norcross, Georgia mining facility.He explained that the miners CleanSpark uses are submerged in a single-phase hydrocarbon oil. According to Monning, this oil is non-coercive, non-flammable and ozone safe.
CleanSpark’s Immersion-Cooled Bitcoin Mining Site in Norcross, GA. Source: CleanSpark
“We then use a dual-loop system, in which the oil remains in the tank and makes contact with water inside a plate exchanger underneath the tank. The water therefore runs out to a dry cooler, expelling the heat into the atmosphere,” he said.
Monnig believes that immersion cooling is one of the most efficient cooling methods.
“Paired with specialized software, it allows us to increase the output of the machine by upwards of 85%. This means we can use fewer machines while still maintaining our output,” Monnig remarked.
He added that while immersion cooling has been around for a long time, the technique is being utilized more rapidly.
Challenges For Bitcoin Miners to Consider
While miners that leverage smart-software solutions and techniques like immersion cooling may achieve better energy efficiency, challenges could hamper operations.
For instance, Kulyk pointed out that, from an operational perspective, some of the biggest challenges to energy efficiency concern the stability of the operating environment. He said:
“This is driven by a few specific factors including, but not limited to ambient operational temperatures, humidity, amount of heat conductivity from the infrastructure the servers are being held in (air-cooled, immersion, or water cooled), type of firmware being used to operate the servers, etc.”
On a strategic basis, Kulyk noted that a major challenge for digital mining operators is finding low cost, at-scale power in jurisdictions with stable rule of law, property rights, and clear electrical regulatory environments. He added:
“While regions that have reliable infrastructure and consistent regulatory policies appeal to digital miners, the challenge lies in sourcing low-cost electricity, as stable governments typically have stricter energy pricing regulations, leading to higher costs.”