Eco-friendly crypto mining supercomputer launches

Called Comino Grando, the graphics processing unit (GPU) computer is 40% more efficient than air-cooled versions. It can recycle energy back into the facility for heating and operate at full power 24 hours a day.

Comino says using air-cooled GPUs in datacentres can result in machines overheating, failed parts and wasted energy. Comino Grando is launching in Sweden after the startup secured a $30 million (£22.3 million) contract to build two European datacentres.

The supercomputer is up to 10 times more compact than air-cooled devices, which increases operational efficiency and cuts infrastructure and rent expenses. Evgeny Vlasov, chief executive of Comino, says the company wants to make the world more eco-friendly.

“Current tasks like cryptocurrency mining, neural networks, and GPU databases eat up huge amounts of energy,” he comments. “Crypto mining alone eats up more energy than Denmark – twice what it needs to be with no heat recovery. We can do much, much better.”

Some experts suggest crypto mining could use up to 60% of the world’s electricity consumption in the future.