Northern Bitcoin joins crypto mining fray with ‘air-cooled’ containers

A German crypto mining firm has announced it has completed testing on a new air-cooled crypto mining container, which could make it more efficient to mine cryptocurrencies in locations worldwide.

Frankfurt am Main-based Northern Bitcoin AG said it had completed trials of its outdoor-focused mobile mining facility at its test site in Frankfurt-Hoechst.

The container holds over 144 ASIC miners inside a 20-foot container. Temperature sensors trigger fans with control air-flow through the unit, with a ventilation system for dissipating heat.

According to the firm, the mining container will give the flexibility to mine in more remote locations, or locations that might have previously been uneconomical due to weather and climate conditions.

With the mobile air-cooled container, crypto miners can effectively go wherever energy is the cheapest, without having to focus on setting up in cold weather climates.

Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Northern Bitcoin, Moritz Jäger said the model would be “revolutionary” for the sustainability of cryptocurrency mining.

The new air-cooled technology has been optimized for year-round cool locations. With the new container variant, we are thus extending our option to open up new locations in Scandinavia for our Bitcoin mining. Like the water-cooled variant, also the air-cooled mining container is highly mobile. This allows us to react flexibly to all location options at short notice for conducting highly efficient Bitcoin mining.

The heat generated by crypto mining hardware is a problem for miners, which many resolve by choosing to set up facilities in cold countries.

The Northern Bitcoin container effectively removes this problem for miners by making it possible to mine in any climate without damaging hardware or battling excess heat.

In the press release issued by Northern Bitcoin, the firm said the 20-foot container was an improvement on its own existing mining facilities.

“At the Lefdal Mine Datacenter in Norway, Northern Bitcoin AG currently operates 21 water-cooled 40-foot containers, each with 210 ASIC miners. In the new, air-cooled 20-foot container, a higher miner density has been achieved due to the design,” according to the firm.