Approximately 1.9 billion yen investment partnership
Data center company Soluna Holdings announced on the 15th an investment partnership with Navitas Global, which operates crypto asset (virtual currency) mining facilities.
Approximately 1.9 billion yen ($14 million) in funding from the alliance will be used for the development of the data center project “Project Dorothy 1B” in Texas, USA.
The project will be a joint venture focused on Bitcoin (BTC) mining. Navitas participates as an investor and equity partner. Acquired a 49% stake in the joint venture “Project Dorothy 1B” to fund the construction of the project infrastructure.
The funding provided by Navitas consists of a loan of about 300 million yen ($2 million) to build a 25-megawatt facility and an equity investment of about 1.6 billion yen ($12 million).
Soluna will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the facility and will continue to own a 51% stake in the joint venture.
Soluna said it is on track to reach positive cash flow in the second half of 2023, thanks to the investment partnership and other mining facility hosting deals in Texas.
Data center operation with renewable energy
Soluna Holdings CEO John Belizaire commented:
In addition to the value of bitcoin mining and trusted partner companies, the Navitas team also understands the long-term value of infrastructure connected to renewable energy power plants.
Soluna is a NASDAQ-listed data center company. It develops data centers that convert renewable energy into computing resources.
In addition to bitcoin mining, it is providing scalable data centers for computing-intensive applications such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.
The company notes that up to 30% of renewable electricity can be wasted as surplus. Soluna’s data center says it will purchase and utilize this power to support power companies.
In addition, when power supply exceeds demand, the operating rate of the mining facility is raised, and when power is tight, such as when the sun is not shining or the wind is not blowing, the operating rate can be flexibly switched, such as lowering the operating rate. We are proceeding with the construction of a new data center.
It is also explained that this will support the transition to renewable energy.
Marathon case study
Another example of cryptocurrency mining that utilizes surplus energy is the US mining company Marathon.
Marathon announced today that it has partnered with digital asset infrastructure company Zero Two to launch a large-scale Bitcoin mining facility in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). It will use surplus energy to improve the base load and sustainability of the grid.
connection: US mining company Marathon to launch large-scale facility in Abu Dhabi
What is Baseload Power?
Electricity that is stably maintained throughout the year regardless of the season or time of day.
▶️Cryptocurrency Glossary
