Chinese bitcoin mining company Saitech Ltd. is set to go public through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company on the Nasdaq exchange.

Under the deal, announced today, Saitech will merge with TradeUP Global Corp. on a pro forma equity value of $228 million. Some $44.9 million in cash held by TradeUP Global will be used to invest in Saitech’s growth initiatives and provide additional working capital.

Founded in 2018 and previously know as Saiheat, Saitech offers a proprietary liquid cooling and heat exchange technology that allows for the utilization of waste heat to provided recycled energy. The company says its tech offers high-grade computing chips for hardware and equipment control for electricity and energy providers, using big data, artificial intelligence and cloud computing to promote industrial upgrading.

Providing recyclable energy for customers isn’t where the Saitech story ends, since the company also pitches itself as a bitcoin mining firm. Saitech currently operates a 15-megawatt power capacity mining operation, with an additional 90 megawatts under construction that is expected to come online in the fourth quarter. A further 200 megawatts to 300 megawatts is expected to be deployed in 2022.

Saitech says it’s striving to become the most cost-efficient digital assets mining operation company globally while simultaneously promoting the clean transition of the bitcoin mining industry.

“This is a key milestone in our journey of becoming Eurasia’s leading bitcoin mining operator focused on lower-impact energy usage and fulfilling our mission of promoting the clean evolution of bitcoin mining,” Arthur Lee, founder and chief executive officer of Saitech, said in a statement. “Our scaled mining operations in Eurasia allows us to benefit from key diversification competitive advantages, such as lower energy and infrastructure costs, as we continue to grow our self-mining bitcoin business.”

Offering a more environmentally friendly way to mine bitcoin is a relevant pitch at a time when it has been criticized for the energy it uses and its environmental imprint. One of the most outspoken critics of bitcoin’s energy consumption has been Tesla Inc. founder and CEO Elon Musk, who pulled support for payments using bitcoin in May, citing environmental concerns.

Coming into its SPAC listing, Saitech has raised RMB 13 million ($2 million) in funding, according to Crunchbase. Investors include Bitmain and Chuangshi Ziben.

Image: Saitech