State-owned Russian gas company Gazprom has launched a pilot project with cryptocurrency firm Crypto Energy to power a modular data center behind the meter using natural gas, according to a report from DatacenterDynamics.
The project will sit in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug region of northwestern Siberia, drawing on gas from the depleted Medvezhye field, according to local reports cited by DCD. Crypto Energy will build the modular data center along with a gas piston power plant to directly supply it, while Gazprom provides the low-pressure gas. The companies said the regional government will help computing capacity owners secure government support.
"Residual reserves of depleted fields in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug are becoming a profitable resource base for prospective data centers," the companies said in a statement reported by DCD. "Due to low reservoir pressure, it's more rational to use such reserves near production sites for energy-intensive data processing facilities."
Gazprom said its project portfolio already includes supplying spare power generation capacity at other fields for data centers elsewhere in Russia, pointing to a similar project already running at the Bovanenkovo field.
The pilot comes shortly after Russia banned Bitcoin mining in Moscow and the surrounding region until the end of 2032, citing pressure on the grid — a ban that did not extend to Siberian and eastern territories, where energy is cheaper. DCD reported that cryptocurrency mining currently consumes roughly 1GW of power in Moscow alone, with projections of up to 3.6GW by 2032.