Renewable Bitcoin mining company Iris Energy has acquired 1.6 EH/s of Bitmain T21 miners, increasing its self-mining capacity to 10 EH/s. The acquisition, costing $22.3 million at $14/TH, is part of Iris Energy’s plan to enhance overall fleet efficiency from 29.5 J/TH to 24.8 J/TH.

Before this acquisition, Iris Energy had ordered Bitmain S21 miners for 1.4 EH/s of mining output. The new-generation T21 miners and S21 miners are scheduled for shipping in Q2 2024, contributing to the company’s goal of expanding from 5.6 EH/s to 10 EH/s.

Data Center Expansion and Ongoing Projects

Iris Energy’s 80MW data center expansion in Childress is progressing, with incremental delivery expected from January 2024 to Q2 2024. This expansion supports the growth of the operating hashrate from 5.6 EH/s to 10 EH/s.

Procurement efforts for an additional 100MW of data centers at Childress are underway, backed by an immediate 500MW power availability on-site.

Diversification into High-Performance Computing (HPC) Data Centers

With robust capitalization of around $64 million in cash and positive operating cash flows, Iris Energy is diversifying its focus beyond Bitcoin mining. The company is re-entering the high-performance computing (HPC) data center strategy, with a renewed interest in 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, marking a strategic shift to target the generative AI sector while maintaining its core business in Bitcoin mining.

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