Could green hydrogen help decarbonize cryptocurency mining?
April 8, 2024A new study says pairing the two can help mitigate climate change.
If green hydrogen production paired with mining bitcoins has you scratching your head in confusion, you’re not alone. However, according to a new study from Cornell University, combining them could offer a stable foundation for deploying renewable power options like wind and solar, boosting energy sustainability.
Reducing the carbon footprint of cryptocurrency mining.
Due to cryptocurrencies increasing popularity around the globe, crypto operations have a growing carbon footprint. Since the currency has the potential to be sustainable and climate-friendly, the study explored how green hydrogen could help the digi-currency achieve climate sustainability.
According to the Cornell University study, if appropriate policy measures were put in place alongside technological solutions, it would be possible to boost renewable power generation and improve carbon offsetting efforts.
Integrating green hydrogen with bitcoin
The research findings of Professor Fengqi You and doctoral student Apoorv Lal reveal that integrating green hydrogen production with bitcoin mining has the potential to significantly raise investment in renewables. In turn, this could result in capacity expansion of up to 73.2% for wind energy and 25.5% for solar energy installations.
For example, the researchers explained that mining Bitcoin in Wyoming has the potential to produce 265.8 MWh of wind energy, while in New Mexico it could potentially generate 88.4 MWh of solar energy.
Paired with renewable hydrogen, “this approach to cryptocurrency not only mitigates its own environmental impact but pioneers a sustainable path for renewable energy transition,” said Professor You.
A sustainable path for transitioning to renewable energy.
An eco-friendly production process, green hydrogen is generated via electrolysis using renewable energy like wind and solar to power the water-splitting process. Once produced, green H2 is a versatile energy carrier. It can be stored, transported, and used across various sectors. Despite the many challenges that currently stand in the way of this clean energy reaching its full potential, many believe this promising tech is one of the keys to unlocking a sustainable future.
Is mining cryptocurrency truly that bad for the environment?
It might seem odd to think that a decentralized digital-only currency that has no physical representation like fiat currency, could be harmful to the environment. However, mining this blockchain currency guzzles down an exceptional amount of power.
According to a 2022 report from the White House Office of Science and Technology, its estimated that the total global electricity usage for crypto-assets are between 120 and 240 billion kWH annually. To put that another way, it’s a range that surpasses the total amount of electricity used in a year by many individual countries, like Australia or Argentina.
As such, coupling green hydrogen with cryptocurrency mining could help to enhance the overall effectiveness of climate change mitigation strategies.
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