Bitcoin mining hardware giant Canaan has announced a new proof-of-concept project that aims to recover waste heat from cryptomining to warm a commercial greenhouse in Canada.
A two-year 3MW pilot facility in Manitoba will see 360 Avalon liquid-cooled computing servers tied into an operating greenhouse’s boiler loop.
This closed-loop heat-exchange system will see the mining machines preheat water rather than vent excess energy into the air.
The operation, which is being carried out in partnership with Bitforest Investment, is designed to deliver up to one million tonnes of hot water annually for year-round cultivation of tomatoes.
Canaan estimates that approximately 90 percent of the electricity consumed by the servers will be captured and recycled into the heating system.
The setup also eliminates the need for costly industrial cooling towers that are typically required in liquid-cooled data centers.
“This program will allow us to measure, model, and scale heat recovery for agriculture in colder climates,” said Nangeng Zhang, chairman and CEO of Canaan. “Liquid cooling enables us to output high-temperature hot water above 75℃ (167°F), making compute heat directly for greenhouses.
“The PoC expands our broader efforts to rethink how computing infrastructure can enhance energy sustainability for households, businesses, and industrial partners.”
The partnership with Bitforest Investment includes a revenue-sharing agreement for grid demand-response programs, which would effectively turn the mining operation into a flexible load for the local power grid.
The Manitoba project follows a growing trend of heat-reuse projects across the sector, with similar initiatives being set up in northern Europe.
Cryptomining device manufacturer Power Mining recently developed a portable data center housed inside a shipping container that redirects residual heat from Bitcoin mining into municipal heating grids.
The first two units, which start from €300,000 ($349,000), will be shipped to a town in Scandinavia, where they are expected to each mine up to 9.7 Bitcoin per year while heating around 2,000 homes.
Zhang said he hoped Canaan’s 24-month pilot in Manitoba would build a “data-driven, replicable model” for the industry.