Iris Energy to Ramp Up Capacity in 2024 Following $22M Spend on Bitmain Rigs

Renewable Bitcoin mining company Iris Energy has revealed the acquisition of 1.6 EH/s of Bitmain T21 miners, increasing its self-mining capacity to 10 EH/s.

In a press release on December 15, the company disclosed plans to acquire 8,380 new-generation T21 miners from Bitmain Technologies Delaware Limited at $14/TH ($22.3 million).

$IREN is pleased to announce it is increasing its self-mining capacity to 10 EH/s

– Acquisition of 1.6 EH/s of @BITMAINtech T21 miners
– $22.3m purchase price ($14/TH)
– Expansion from 5.6 EH/s to 10 EH/s on track
– Improves overall efficiency from 29.5 J/TH to 24.8 J/TH

— Iris Energy (@irisenergyco) December 15, 2023

Prior to the latest purchase, Iris Energy had initially ordered Bitmain S21 miners to generate 1.4EH/s of mining output.

These S21 and T21 miners, scheduled for shipping in Q2 2024, are expected to enhance the overall fleet efficiency from 29.5 J/TH to 24.8 J/TH upon installation.

Meanwhile, Iris Energy’s 80MW data center expansion in Childress is progressing. It is set to deliver incrementally from January 2024 to Q2 2024 and support the operating hashrate growth from 5.6 EH/s to 10 EH/s.

Early works and procurement efforts for an additional 100MW of data centers at Childress are also ongoing, backed by an immediate 500MW power availability on-site.

This recent acquisition follows the June 20 announcement of Iris Energy advancing the construction of 80MW of data centers for Phase 1 (first 100MW) at its 600MW Childress site.

$IREN today announced:
– 80MW Childress construction underway, target increase in potential data center capacity from 5.6 EH/s to ~9.1 EH/s by early 2024
– Long-lead items to unlock ~13.6 EH/s
– Prior HPC data center strategy revitalized
– Limited recourse financing update

— Iris Energy (@irisenergyco) June 20, 2023

These additional 4 x 20MW data centers are expected to boost the company’s potential operating capacity by approximately 63%, reaching 9.1 EH/s from the current 5.6 EH/s, with completion targeted for early 2024.

Ongoing procurement efforts also include long-lead items for Childress Phase 2 (second 100MW), which are projected to unlock around 13.6 EH/s of data center capacity.

However, the company’s immediate focus centers on data center construction, with the timing of miner purchases contingent on funding and market conditions.

Irish Energy Data Services to Cater for Hot-Red Demand for Generative AI Computing

Iris Energy boasts robust capitalization, holding approximately $64 million in cash, no debt, and generating positive operating cashflows from its existing 5.6 EH/s, with potential equity facility options.

While maintaining its focus on Bitcoin mining, the company previously highlighted its renewed interest in high-performance computing (HPC) data center strategy.

This strategic shift was initially explored around 3-4 years ago, marked by a memorandum of understanding with Dell Technologies in March 2020.

To diversify its focus beyond Bitcoin mining into generative artificial intelligence (AI), Iris Energy invested $10 million to acquire 248 advanced Nvidia H100 Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) on August 29. These GPUs will be deployed for cloud computing opportunities.

$IREN today announced the purchase of @NVIDIA’s latest-generation #AI H100 GPUs

– Next-gen data centers to now target generative #AI
– Initial purchase of 248 @NVIDIA H100 GPUs for ~US$10m
– Core business remains #BTC mining; generative #AI represents additional opportunity

— Iris Energy (@irisenergyco) August 29, 2023

The mining company operates in regions across North America with abundant renewable energy, including Mackenzie, Canal Flats, Prince George in Canada’s British Columbia, and its Childress site in Texas.