TLDR
- Canaan Inc. shares surged 40% following announcement of Calgary pilot converting flared natural gas into bitcoin mining power
- Partnership with Aurora AZ Energy deploys $2 million in Avalon A15 Pro miners generating 2.5 megawatts at gas wellheads
- Project expects to eliminate 12,000-14,000 metric tons of CO₂ emissions annually by utilizing otherwise wasted gas
- Stock reached $1.53, near 2025 highs, after company secured 50,000-unit miner order in early October
- Mining companies increasingly repurposing energy infrastructure for AI data centers to meet computing demand
Nasdaq-listed Canaan Inc. experienced a 40% stock price increase on Monday after revealing a pilot project that transforms flared natural gas into electricity for cryptocurrency mining operations. The bitcoin mining hardware manufacturer partnered with Calgary-based Aurora AZ Energy to launch the initiative in Alberta, Canada.
The deployment involves approximately $2 million worth of Avalon A15 Pro mining equipment installed at natural gas wellhead sites. These modular installations will produce around 2.5 megawatts of computing power for bitcoin mining and artificial intelligence applications. The system converts gas that would typically be flared into usable electricity.
Canaan shares traded at $1.53 during publication, approaching their 2025 peak levels. The stock had previously touched $1.56 earlier in October when the company announced its largest equipment order in three years. That sale consisted of 50,000 Avalon A15 Pro units.

The Calgary operation addresses environmental concerns associated with methane flaring at natural gas extraction sites. Company projections indicate the system will prevent 12,000 to 14,000 metric tons of CO₂-equivalent emissions from entering the atmosphere each year.
Nangeng Zhang, Canaan’s chairman and CEO, stated the project demonstrates how previously wasted resources can power next-generation distributed AI infrastructure. The company views high-density computing as requiring scalable and energy-efficient power solutions.
Equipment and Operations
The pilot program deployed 700 Avalon A15 Pro mining units directly at wellhead locations. Canaan provides 90% uptime guarantees, excluding extreme weather events and scheduled maintenance periods. The infrastructure allows operators to sell surplus electricity back to the power grid during favorable market conditions.
Aurora AZ Energy focuses on natural gas wellhead power generation for data centers and cryptocurrency mining facilities. Their conversion technology delivers off-grid energy that reduces pressure on existing electrical infrastructure. Similar gas-to-power mining projects have operated since 2020, with UK-based Union Jack Oil announcing a comparable initiative in 2025.
Mining Infrastructure Transitions to AI
Galaxy Digital recently raised $460 million to transform its former Helios bitcoin mining facility in Texas into an AI data center for CoreWeave. The conversion reflects growing demand for high-density computing infrastructure across the technology sector. VanEck analyst Matthew Sigel cited Morgan Stanley research indicating bitcoin mining sites provide AI companies the fastest route to power access with minimal execution risk.
Cloud computing providers are investing heavily in AI infrastructure heading into 2025. Industry estimates project approximately $350 billion in AI-related spending by year-end, driving requirements for energy-efficient computing facilities. The modular design enables rapid deployment at remote wellhead sites for bitcoin mining, AI inference, and high-performance computing tasks.
Canaan and Aurora intend to use the Calgary pilot as a blueprint for global expansion if results prove successful. The project combines computing capacity growth with responsible energy utilization practices. The partnership demonstrates how bitcoin mining infrastructure can adapt to serve emerging AI data center needs using the same high-density computing equipment and power systems.