Deutsche Telekom, Europe's largest telecommunications provider, has announced a pioneering pilot project to operate bitcoin mining infrastructure using surplus renewable energy. The initiative is a collaboration between Deutsche Telekom subsidiary MMS and Bankhaus Metzler, with the aim of using excess electricity that would otherwise go unused due to grid limitations or lack of storage solutions.
Deutsche Telekom starts bitcoin mining
With the increasing integration of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar into the power grid, power production has become more irregular, creating challenges in stabilizing the grid. The pilot project seeks to address this by converting surplus energy into digital assets through bitcoin mining, a process known for its high energy consumption. “This regulatory power through bitcoin mining is already successfully practiced in other countries (including the US and Finland). The pilot project aims to validate the process for Germany,” the official bitcoin-mining-infrastructure-for-surplus-energy-1082684″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”>advertisement states.
“Due to flexible charging, bitcoin miners could play an important role in balancing supply and demand on the energy grid in the future,” the companies added in their joint announcement. “Surplus energy is converted into digital values through miners. We call this digital monetary photosynthesis,” said Oliver Nyderle, Head of Digital Trust & Web3 Infrastructure at Deutsche Telekom MMS.
The hosting of the bitcoin miners is managed by Metis Solutions GmbH from Dresden. The mining containers are located at the premises of Riva GmbH Engineering in Backnang, a metal and glass facade manufacturer that operates its own photovoltaic installation. This configuration allows the project to harness on-site renewable energy for mining operations.
Deutsche Telekom MMS, leveraging years of experience with Web3 infrastructure, monitors the operation of mining devices. Bankhaus Metzler contributes by defining test runs and analyzing data evaluations, exploring through the pilot other possibilities of financial services with bitcoin.
Bankhaus Metzler, a private bank founded in 1674, has shown increasing interest in blockchain technology. “Our goal is to gain experience in various application areas to further advance the innovative power of blockchain technology in Germany,” said Hendrik König, Head of the Digital Asset Office at Bankhaus Metzler. “Blockchain technology is increasingly gaining importance in operational businesses outside the financial industry, and a trusted financial partner is indispensable for managing crypto assets.”
The pilot aims to provide valid field data and information to plan subsequent projects, potentially offering solutions to stabilize the energy grid during fluctuations that stress the system. This approach could benefit renewable energy producers who face challenges with unpredictable regulatory power.
Notably, Deutsche Telekom has been involved in the crypto ecosystem since 2020. Deutsche Telekom MMS has been providing infrastructure for several decentralized protocols in the Web3 sector, including Chainlink, Fetch.ai, and Polygon. In 2023, Deutsche Telekom expanded its portfolio by operating a bitcoin node.
At the time of publication, btc was trading at $69,250.
Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
