Nodal Power, a bitcoin mining startup that focuses on renewable energy sources using methane gas produced from landfills, announced Tuesday that it has raised $13 million in seed funding to build out its operations.

The company uses methane produced by landfills to power generators as an alternative to “flaring,” a process used to burn off the gas. This is done because methane is produced by landfills as a natural byproduct of organic processes that occur within the mounds, causing compliance and odor issues.

Methane itself is a significant greenhouse gas and landfills are the third largest human-generated source of methane, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Methane is more than 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere, so its control is extremely important.

By combusting the methane in generators, Nodal Power helps cut down on carbon emissions through this process and produces power that can be sold to the local energy grid and used for its primary operations: mining bitcoin.

Bitcoin mining is the process of creating new bitcoins by solving complex math problems, which protects the bitcoin blockchain network by verifying transactions. When mines mine a block on the blockchain, they are rewarded with a predetermined number of bitcoins from the network. This work requires a certain amount of power and is critical for the security of the network.

“We’ve developed solutions, specifically for smaller landfills, that allow us to bring these overlooked resources to market,” said Nodal Power Chief Executive Bryan Black. “Our technology and energy first approach have the potential to make a significant impact on local energy markets.”

Nodal Power has already deployed two energy production sites in the United States. The first site, located in the southwest U.S., exports energy to the local power grid but is also colocated with a data center that it energizes. The second site runs what the company says is a first of its kind fully sustainable off-grid data center that is entirely powered by landfill gas.

A third U.S.-based site is planned for launch in early 2024 will also use landfill methane gas as its operating mechanism for producing electricity. The methane produced by landfills is considered an otherwise wasted resource that could be put to better use, either turned into power that can be sold to the grid or, in the case of Nodal Power, used to mine bitcoins.

The EPA tracks municipal sites around the U.S. for about 2,600 solid waste landfills and there are about 500 energy projects currently in operation. The regulator estimates that there are 500 additional landfills that could benefit from operations that would be cost-effective for turning their methane into energy.

Image: Pixabay