Bitcoin mining has long been seen as a form of energy intensive process. According to a Bloomberg report, some studies estimate that the annual energy consumption involved in mining exceeded the amount used by countries such as Belgium. 

But did you know, one startup called Gridless is taking advantage of this energy intensive process to unlock cheaper and more sustainable sources of energy in Africa?

Here’s how it works. Africa is a haven for renewable energy but a lot of it has not been harnessed due to the costs involved in building the infrastructure needed to make them usable. 

With Bitcoin miners looking to find ways to access energy at lower costs to create new tokens, Gridless is co-locating miners with renewable sources to create a financial incentive for renewable power production in Africa. 

On Market View, Prime Time’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian spoke with Erik Hersman, Co-founder and CEO of Gridless on the road ahead for the business.