The Block: German firm Northern Bitcoin launching air-cooled mining container with 144 ASICs installed

Germany-based bitcoin mining firm Northern Bitcoin has “successfully” tested its new air-cooled mobile mining container for outdoor operations, according to an announcement Monday.

The firm said the new container, in which 144 ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) miners are installed, is a 20-foot custom-made construction to cool computers during mining calculations.

“To cool the container, cold outside air is ingested and filtered through lamellae mounted in an outer wall and led through the container past the mining hardware,” the firm explained.

“The new air-cooled technology has been optimized for year-round cool locations,” said the firm’s CTO, Moritz Jäger, adding: “With the new container variant, we are thus extending our option to open up new locations in Scandinavia for our Bitcoin mining."

Northern Bitcoin already has a water-cooled container solution in place. It currently operates 21 water-cooled 40-foot containers, each with 210 ASIC miners. "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," said Jäger.