Article content

(Bloomberg) — US-based funds Goldcrest Capital and Collaborative Fund have invested $13.5 million in a seed round for Argentine energy tech startup Unblock, which converts excess gas from oil and gas companies into computing power.  

Article content

The fresh capital will help Unblock double its team to around 26 members across engineering and operations as it eyes a potential expansion into Brazil, said founder and Chief Executive Officer Tomas Ocampo. Other firms that participated in the round included Argentine groups Pampa Energia and Grupo Inversor Sielecki, alongside FJ Labs, NYDIG, Luxor Technology, and Sunna Ventures.

Article content

Article content

Article content

Unblock, which adopted US-based startup Crusoe’s technology to divert gas from flaring and hook it up into generators to produce electricity, has built two data centers in oil fields in Argentina’s Vaca Muerta region, where it uses excess gas to mine crypto. By capturing that energy and converting it into computing, the company says it has prevented the release into the atmosphere of more than 140,000 tons of CO2 annually.

Article content

Article content

“We take the gas that was previously wasted, convert it into electricity, and then convert it into computing power,” Ocampo said in an interview. “Most of that energy is used for crypto mining because it gives us the ability to scale our business without yet solving the big obstacles we have in Latin America in making AI, such as a lack of connectivity.”

Article content

The company has deployed 15 megawatts of capacity and expects to double that figure by September. Prior to the equity round, in May 2023 it raised $20 million intended for project investment from Pampa Energia and Grupo Sielecki.

Article content

Ocampo was managing director at the venture arm of state-run YPF SA before founding Unblock in 2021. The company’s goal is to help meet rising global demand for computing power — driven by AI and crypto mining — while also addressing persistent bottlenecks in Latin America’s power infrastructure, he said.

Article content

Ocampo noted that in addition to environmental upside by reducing methane emissions, their solutions seek to respond to an urgent logistical challenge. Argentina, home to one of the world’s largest shale oil reserves, has struggled to monetize excess gas, which due to its small volumes, was not profitable. At the same time, local flaring restrictions hampered the development of the Vaca Muerta oil field.

Article content

“Our mission is to harness all the energy that is wasted in Latin America, whether it’s renewable or flaring energy,” Ocampo said. “Our mission is to solve the problem completely.”

Article content