Bitzero Blockchain, the cryptomining and HPC infrastructure firm backed by Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary, has announced the development of four data centers across the US, Finland, and Norway.

The firm, which claims to be developing “ESG-focused infrastructure and sustainable power for high-performance computing and blockchain activities,” said it had selected the locations for its new data centers based on their cold climates.

By “combining asset ownership, low-cost renewable energy, and strategic optimization of mining hardware,” the company says it has “created a model that is more profitable per unit of revenue than traditional miners, even in post-halving conditions.”

Quite how new the data centers are is unclear. The company’s Norway 1 facility, in Namsskogan, Norway, appears to already be up and running, and offers 40MW capacity across 14,000 cryptomining rigs. Bitzero says this is currently being expanded to 110MW. It has also leased a 5MW site in nearby Røyrvik, known as Norway 2.

In Finland, Bitzero is operating out of a facility in Kokemäki, which offers 10MW and has potential capacity of 800MW.

In North Dakota, US, the company purchased a former missile base, the Stanley R. Mickelsen Safeguard Complex at Nekoma, commonly known as “The Pyramid,” in 2022, and now runs a 2.5MW data center on the site, with 30MW of capacity “prepped for rapid deployment.” The 184-acre site could eventually offer up to 300MW, and Bitzero believes it is ideal “for hyperscale compute and sensitive data storage.”

While the company’s sites in Europe appear to comply with its low-carbon energy ethos, Bitzero says the North Dakota site is powered by an energy mix that includes natural gas, a polluting fossil fuel (albeit one with a lower carbon footprint than coal or oil).

“The world doesn’t just need more data centers, it needs better ones,” said Bitzero CEO Mohammed Bakhashwain. “Our mission is simple: deliver high-performance computing power with the lowest environmental impact possible, and we’re doing it in sites we have strategically identified and acquired as some of the most energy-efficient environments on the planet.”

O’Leary, the investor also known as Mr. Wonderful, following his appearances on the US TV show Shark Tank, has been involved with Bitzero for a number of years, and said: “I invested in Bitzero because they’re setting a new standard for how data centers should operate in the blockchain and AI era.

“They’re building the kind of data infrastructure we need more of: clean, secure, and built for serious scale.”

Last year, O’Leary announced he was backing an off-grid power and data center project in Alberta, Canada.

Based in North Dakota, Bitzero had previously been planning a data center in Montana, but there is no mention of this project on its website or in this week’s announcement.