AUTONOMOUS DATA PROCESSING CENTER SYSTEM FOR HIGH-DENSITY COMPUTING AND METHODS

Description

1 / 39 “AUTONOMOUS DATA PROCESSING CENTER SYSTEM FOR HIGH-DENSITY COMPUTING AND METHODS” Field of Invention

[001] This document refers to high-energy-density autonomous computing systems, blockchain mining systems, and related usage methods. Background of the Invention

[002] The following paragraphs do not constitute an admission that anything discussed in them is prior technique or part of the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[003] Traditional Data Processing Centers typically focus on providing scalable computing resources, storage, and networking services to support a variety of general-purpose and multi-user applications and workloads, prioritizing reliability, flexibility, scalability, availability, ease of use, and security. High-Energy Density Computing (HEDC) Data Processing Centers are custom-built and optimized for computationally intensive tasks such as blockchain mining, high-performance computing (HPC), supercomputing, large language model training (LLM), machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), neural networks, and global climate modeling.HEDC systems prioritize raw processing power, utilizing specialized hardware configurations of high-performance Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), Central Processing Units (CPUs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), and Integrated Circuits. Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 16 / 136 2 / 39 Application-Specific Computers (ASICs) are optimized to accelerate the specific computational task of HEDC (High-End Decentralization) at the expense of general-purpose computing. HEDC systems require extensive power and cooling technologies to operate successfully. In many HEDC applications, such as blockchain mining, the systems are uneconomical to operate, as the cost of energy is close to or even greater than the potential revenue obtained from computational activities. Bitcoin is the most famous existing blockchain system and is an example of a decentralized digital currency that operates independently of central banks and uses cryptography (authenticated by mining processes) to secure and verify transactions in a public ledger called the blockchain. Bitcoin requires significant amounts of energy to operate, as its mining process involves solving complex mathematical problems that demand extensive computational power.

[004] Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) is a renewable energy technology that harnesses the temperature difference in ocean water to generate electricity. OTEC has the potential to provide a significant source of clean and sustainable energy. However, previous OTEC projects have failed to deliver scalable, reliable, and cost-effective energy solutions, and have not been widely adopted worldwide. Brief Description of the Invention

[005] A self-contained High Energy Density Computing (HEDC) Data Processing Center system is disclosed comprising: a low-temperature thermal machine (LTHE) with an extended working fluid circuit between a heat source and a heat sink; an HEDC device connected to receive electricity generated by the LTHE; a heat exchanger in the working fluid circuit; and a fluid circuit. Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 17 / 136 3 / 39 Extended cooling between the HEDC device and the working fluid circuit (heat exchanger).

[006] A method is also disclosed comprising: generating electricity using a low-temperature heat engine (LTHE); operating an HEDC device, using electricity generated by the LTHE, to perform computer processes; and cooling the HEDC device by heat exchange with the working fluid of the LTHE.

[007] A high-energy-density autonomous computing system is also disclosed, comprising: a low-temperature thermal machine (LTHE) with an extended working fluid circuit between a heat source and a heat sink; a data processing center connected to receive electricity generated by the LTHE; a heat exchanger in the working fluid circuit; and an extended cooling fluid circuit between the data processing center and the heat exchanger.

[008] A method is also disclosed comprising: generating electricity using a low-temperature heat engine (LTHE); operating a high-energy-density computing device (HEDC), using electricity generated by the LTHE, to execute data processing center processes; and cooling the HEDC device by heat exchange with the LTHE's working fluid.

[009] The embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of energy conversion and computing, and specifically to low-temperature thermal machines and high-energy-density computing. More particularly, some embodiments relate to a system that improves the efficiency of a low-temperature thermal machine by reintegrating the heat generated by the high-energy-density computing, which is powered by the thermal machine. In some cases, the invention combines two technologies, a low-temperature thermal machine and high-energy-density computing, to create a synergistic system that maximizes energy efficiency and reduces the Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 18 / 136 4 / 39 waste. The system can use the waste heat generated by high-energy-density computing as a heat source within a low-temperature thermal machine, creating a unique closed-loop system that improves the overall efficiency of both technologies. The invention provides a solution to the challenge of effectively utilizing waste heat from high-energy-density computing in low-temperature thermal machines and contributes to the field of energy conversion by creating a more sustainable and efficient energy system.

[0010] In some cases, a method is disclosed for extracting electrical energy from a low initial temperature heat source by means of a low-temperature heat engine (LTHE) to power a High Energy Density Computing (HEDC) data processing center, where the waste heat generated by the HEDC subsystem is transferred back to the LTHE subsystem by means of a heat transfer medium and a heat exchange plant. The use of a coupled HEDC-LTHE, as described, can result in an efficient and economical cooling solution for HEDC systems, compared to conventional cooling methods, increasing the efficiency and reducing the costs of an LTHE.

[0011] In some cases, the disclosed embodiments provide one or more of the following: a fully integrated design, single system; computing devices that are part of a thermal machine; enhanced low-temperature thermal machine devices; a vessel-based HEDC system; a method of operation while navigating (i.e., moving) a vessel in a body of water, such as the ocean; ocean thermal energy conversion processes; a power generation and data processing system that is not land-connected or does not need to be land-connected in all cases; a low-latency / small bandwidth data connection; a satellite-operated system; design Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 19 / 136 5 / 39 modular; a containerized HEDC system; immersion cooling technology for HEDC systems; an OTEC system with equatorial focus; the ability to convert used or pre-existing vessels to perform such processes; a remotely operated system; a system for use in deep waters; a system that performs internal calculations instead of cloud-based calculations; a system that incorporates Bitcoin mining, high-performance computing (HPC), supercomputing, large language model training (LLM), machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI) and / or neural networks, with specialized hardware configurations of high-performance Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) and Tensor Processing Units (TPUs);Central Processing Units (CPUs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), and Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), information technology (IT) equipment optimized to accelerate the specific computational task of HEDC; a combination of Bitcoin mining, high-performance computing (HPC), supercomputing, large language model training (LLM), machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), and / or neural network and OTEC technologies; and methods for decarbonizing Bitcoin, high-performance computing (HPC), supercomputing, large language model training (LLM), machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), and / or neural network.

[0012] In various embodiments, one or more of the following resources may be included: HEDC comprises a task-specialized processor configuration comprising one or more of the following: High-performance Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), and Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), arranged and interconnected to optimize the performance of computational tasks. Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 20 / 136 6 / 39 specific. The HEDC comprises a blockchain mining device. The HEDC is configured to perform one or more of the following operations: artificial intelligence, machine learning, large language models, generative AI, neural network, and supercomputing. The LTHE comprises a turbomachine connected to generate electricity for the HEDC device. The heat exchanger is in the working fluid circuit upstream of the turbomachine. The turbomachine comprises a plurality of turbomachines. The plurality of turbomachines comprises: a first turbomachine downstream of the heat source but upstream of the heat exchanger; and a second turbomachine downstream of the heat exchanger but upstream of the heat sink.A heat exchanger from the heat source is located between the heat source and the working fluid circuit; and the working fluid circuit is structured to circulate the working fluid, in series, from the heat exchanger from the heat source to the first turbomachine, back to the heat exchanger from the heat source and to the second turbomachine. The system has a gas-liquid separator in the working fluid circuit downstream of the heat source and upstream of the turbomachine, and is structured to separate the working fluid into: a gaseous stream that is supplied to the turbomachine; and a liquefied stream that is supplied to the heat exchanger and then to the turbomachine. The heat exchanger and the cooling fluid circuit are structured to superheat the working fluid in the working fluid circuit.A controller is configured to operate the LTHE and the cooling fluid circuit to maintain an HEDC device processor within a safe operating temperature range. The working fluid comprises ammonia. One or more circulation pumps are in the cooling fluid circuit or the working fluid circuit. A heat source heat exchanger is located between the heat source and the working fluid circuit; and a heat sink heat exchanger is located between the heat sink and the working fluid circuit. The heat exchanger is connected downstream of the heat source heat exchanger. The LTHE performs an energy conversion process. Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 21 / 136 7 / 39 Ocean Thermal Energy (OTEC). The system forms an installation that houses the HEDC device and the LTHE. The installation forms a boat. The HEDC device comprises a plurality of processors connected to a network interface; the network interface is connected to receive and transmit data over the internet. The HEDC comprises a blockchain mining device; the network interface is connected to a peer-to-peer network that stores or has access to a blockchain database, which is a distributed database stored across multiple nodes on the peer-to-peer network and stores transactional information for a digital currency; and the processors are connected to the network interface and adapted to mine transactions associated with the blockchain database and to communicate with the blockchain database. Operate the HEDC device using electricity generated by the LTHE.Electricity generation consists of circulating the working fluid around a working fluid circuit of the LTHE between a heat source, a turbomachine, and a heat sink. Cooling consists of circulating the cooling fluid around a cooling fluid circuit between the HEDC device and a heat exchanger, which is in the working fluid circuit upstream of the turbomachine. The turbomachine comprises a first turbomachine and a second turbomachine; and the working fluid is circulated between: the first turbomachine downstream of the heat source but upstream of the heat exchanger; and the second turbomachine downstream of the heat exchanger but upstream of the heat sink. The working fluid circuit is circulated in series, from a heat exchanger of the heat source, to the first turbomachine, back to the heat exchanger of the heat source, and to the second turbomachine.The working fluid circulation comprises: circulating the working fluid from the heat source to a gas-liquid separator in the working fluid circuit downstream of the heat source and upstream of the turbomachine; and separating the working fluid, using the gas-liquid separator, into: a gasified stream that is supplied to the turbomachine; and a liquefied stream that is supplied to the heat exchanger. Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 22 / 136 8 / 39 next, to the turbomachine. Heat exchange with the working fluid superheats the working fluid in the working fluid circuit. Cooling consists of maintaining a HEDC device processor within a safe operating temperature range. The LTHE performs an ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) process. The method is carried out on a boat floating in the ocean. The working fluid circuit comprises working fluid selected to alternate between liquid and gaseous phases during a circuit cycle. The working fluid circuit is structured to cycle the working fluid, in series, from the heat source heat exchanger to the first turbomachine and to the heat exchanger. The safe operating temperature range is equal to or greater than the boiling point of the working fluid. The heat source comprises relatively cold ocean water, and the heat sink comprises relatively warm ocean water.The OTEC plant is structured to operate and generate electricity while moving along the ocean surface. Adjust the input power from the HEDC device to balance other loads powered by the LTHE.

[0013] The above brief description is not intended to summarize every potential embodiment or all aspects of the object of the present invention. These and other aspects of the device and method are presented in the claims. Brief Description of the Figures

[0014] The embodiments will now be described with reference to the figures, in which similar reference characters denote similar elements, by way of example, and in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of both an onshore Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) and High Energy Density Computing (HEDC) installation, and an offshore OTEC and HEDC installation. Fig. 2 is a partial perspective side elevation view of an offshore OTEC and HEDC installation, with a graph Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 23 / 136 9 / 39 of the ocean depth superimposed on the view for reference. Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram describing a system comprising a low-temperature heat engine (LTHE) where a single or two streams of working fluid are superheated using waste heat transferred from the cooling of a high-energy-density computing data processing center (HEDC) operation, via a heat exchange system and a single turbine that also supplies power to the HEDC operation. Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram representing a variation of the system in Fig. 1, where a heat transfer medium employed by the HEDC data processing center allows for the removal of the coolant pump in Fig. 1.Figure 5 is a schematic diagram representing an embodiment of a system comprising a LTHE where a single or two streams of working fluid are reheated by waste heat transferred from the HEDC data processing center operation via a heat exchanger and a twin-turbine system that supplies power to the HEDC data processing center operation. Figure 6 is a schematic diagram representing a variation of the system in Figure 5, where a single or two streams of working fluid are reheated by a twin-flow heat exchanger in a regenerative Rankine cycle, then superheated by waste heat transferred from the HEDC operation via a heat exchanger and a twin-turbine system that supplies power to the HEDC operation.Figure 7 illustrates an embodiment of a system comprising a LTHE where a single stream or two streams of working fluid are preheated by waste heat transferred from the operation of the HEDC data processing center via a heat exchanger plant and a single turbine system that provides power for the operation of the HEDC data processing center. Figure 8 illustrates an embodiment of a system comprising a LTHE where a single stream or two streams of working fluid are partially evaporated, where the gas and liquid components are separated by means of a separator apparatus. Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 24 / 136 10 / 39 gas-liquid, and the liquid flow is fully vaporized by the waste heat transferred from the HEDC operation via a heat exchanger and a single turbine system that provides power for the HEDC operation. Fig. 9 is a perspective view of an example of an HEDC device, a blockchain mining processor, in the exemplary form of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) processor for Bitcoin mining. Fig. 10 is a schematic of a cooling fluid circuit, heat exchanger, and HEDC device, connected for heat exchange with a working fluid circuit of an LTHE. Detailed Description of the Invention

[0015] Immaterial modifications may be made to the modalities described herein without departing from what is covered by the claims.

[0016] In thermodynamics and engineering, a heat engine is a system that converts heat into usable energy, particularly mechanical energy, which can then be used to perform mechanical work. Although originally conceived in the context of mechanical energy, the concept of a heat engine has been applied to various other types of energy, particularly electrical energy, at least since the late 19th century. The heat engine does this by taking a working fluid from a higher state temperature to a lower state temperature – in some cases, by transitioning a fluid between phases. A heat source generates thermal energy that takes the working substance to the higher temperature state. The working substance generates work in the working body of the machine while transferring heat to the cooler sink until it reaches a lower temperature state.During this process, some of the thermal energy is converted into work, exploiting the properties of the working substance. The working substance can be any system with a non-zero heat capacity, but it is usually a gas or liquid. During this process... Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 25 / 136 11 / 39 Part of the heat is normally lost to the environment and is not converted into work. In addition, some of the energy is unusable due to friction and drag.

[0017] In general, an engine is any machine that converts energy into mechanical work, and a heat engine is no different. Heat engines are distinguished from other types of engines by the fact that their efficiency is fundamentally limited by Carnot's theorem. While this efficiency limitation can be a disadvantage, an advantage of heat engines is that most forms of energy can be easily converted into heat by processes such as exothermic reactions (like combustion), nuclear fission, absorption of light or energetic particles, friction, dissipation, and resistance. Because the heat source that provides thermal energy to the engine can be powered by virtually any type of energy, heat engines cover a wide range of applications. Heat engines are often confused with the cycles they attempt to implement. Typically, the term engine is used for a physical device and cycle for the models.

[0018] A heat engine can perform a Rankine cycle, which is an idealized thermodynamic cycle that describes the process by which certain heat engines, such as steam turbines or reciprocating steam engines, allow mechanical work to be extracted from a fluid as it moves between a heat source and a heat sink. Thermal energy is supplied to the system, in many cases via a boiler, where the working fluid (typically water) is converted into a high-pressure gaseous state (such as steam) to rotate a turbine. After passing through the turbine, the fluid may condense back into a liquid state, as residual thermal energy is rejected before being returned to the boiler, completing the cycle. Friction losses throughout the system are often neglected to simplify calculations, as such losses are generally much less significant than thermodynamic losses, especially in larger systems. Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 26 / 136 12 / 39

[0019] Low-temperature heat engines (LTHEs) have been gaining increasing attention as a promising technology for harnessing low-quality heat sources and converting them into useful energy. An LTHE includes one that operates below 100 degrees Celsius (the boiling point of water). In an OTEC context, an LTHE can operate at 30 degrees Celsius or less. They are designed to operate at significantly lower temperatures than conventional heat engines and are more efficient and economical in utilizing low-quality heat sources such as renewable energy and waste heat.

[0020] Despite the advantages of low-temperature heat engines, their efficiency is often limited by the low temperature of the heat source and the low conversion efficiency of the heat engine itself. The low temperature of the heat source means that there is less energy available to be converted into useful work, which in turn results in lower conversion efficiency. Furthermore, low-temperature heat engines can also face technical challenges such as corrosion, fouling, and material degradation, which can further reduce their efficiency. To overcome these challenges and improve the efficiency of low-temperature heat engines, a system is needed that effectively utilizes low-quality heat sources and converts them into useful energy.An additional factor that results in further reductions in the overall thermodynamic efficiency of a low-temperature heat engine is the loss associated with providing the necessary controls on the turbine for the precise regulation of the frequency required to export energy to an electrical grid. This introduces pressure losses in the turbine cycle that further limit the work that can be extracted from the system.

[0021] High-energy-density computing, on the other hand, requires a significant amount of energy to power the computers and generates heat as a byproduct. This residual heat is typically treated as a burden. Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 27 / 136 13 / 39 due to the cost of the cooling systems needed to remove it from computer systems to prevent overheating. However, this waste heat can also be valuable if used effectively. A HEDC system can be called a type of data processing center, which is an example of a computing system, usually contained within a building, a dedicated space within a building, a group of buildings, or in modular containers. A traditional data processing center can be used to house computer systems and associated components such as telecommunications and storage systems, typically focused on providing scalable general-purpose computing resources, storage, and networking services to support a variety of general-purpose multi-tenant applications and workloads, prioritizing reliability, flexibility, scalability, availability, ease of use, and security.While HEDC data processing centers are built and optimized specifically for computationally intensive tasks such as blockchain mining, high-performance computing (HPC), supercomputing, large language model training (LLM), machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), neural networks, and global climate modeling, HEDC systems prioritize raw computing power by utilizing specialized hardware configurations of high-performance Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), Central Processing Units (CPUs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), and Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) optimized to accelerate the specific computational task of the HEDC at the expense of general-purpose computing.Since information technology (IT) operations are crucial for business continuity, a data processing center typically includes redundant or backup components and infrastructure for power supply, data communication connections, environmental controls (e.g., air conditioning, etc.). Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 28 / 136 14 / 39 fire suppression) and various safety devices. A large data processing center is an industrial-scale operation that consumes as much electricity as a small city.

[0022] HEDC systems can be designed to operate with a heat transfer medium and system that transfers waste heat generated by an HEDC subsystem fed by an LTHE subsystem to the working fluid used in the thermodynamic cycle of the LTHE subsystem by means of a heat exchanger, constituting a unique combined closed-loop system that does not require an external electrical connection. The heat transfer medium used in the HEDC subsystem of this invention can be a gas, a liquid, or a two-phase system of single-component or multi-component composition, depending on the ideal temperature and pressure for the HEDC application. The working fluid of the LTHE used in this invention can be a single-component stream or multiple multi-component streams of different compositions.The present invention, in some cases, relates to a system for low initial temperature heat sources in small to large power plants, combining an LTHE subsystem, including at least one turbine adapted to convert a portion of the thermal energy contained in at least one partially or fully vaporized stream into work, with an HEDC subsystem, including a heat transfer medium and a transfer system, which is fed by the LTHE subsystem and is adapted to transfer the waste heat produced by the electrical devices used in the HEDC subsystem to the LTHE subsystem.

[0023] HEDC systems can be used to run blockchain database system processes, such as cryptocurrency mining processes. A cryptocurrency is a digital asset designed to function as a medium of exchange that uses strong cryptography to secure financial transactions, control the creation of additional units, and verify the transfer of assets. Cryptocurrencies utilize decentralized control, in Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 29 / 136 15 / 39 opposition to centralized digital currency systems and central banks. The decentralized control of each cryptocurrency works through distributed ledger technology, typically a blockchain that serves as a public database of financial transactions.

[0024] A blockchain is a form of database that can be saved as a distributed ledger on a network of nodes that maintains a continuously growing list of records called blocks. Each block contains a timestamp and a link to a previous block. The data in a block cannot be altered retroactively without significant computational effort and the consensus of the majority of the network. Through the use of a peer-to-peer network and a distributed timestamp server, a blockchain database is autonomously managed. The administration of the Bitcoin currency is currently the primary use of blockchain technology, but there are other use cases for blockchain technology to maintain accurate and tamper-proof databases. Examples include maintaining records of property titles and historical events. Although the potential of blockchain technology is vast, Bitcoin remains the most widely used today.

[0025] By design, blockchains are inherently resistant (and presumed to be effectively immune) to data modification—once recorded, the data in a block cannot be retroactively altered without network consensus. Blockchains are an open and distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently, verifiably, and permanently. The ledger itself can also be programmed to trigger transactions automatically. Blockchains are secure by design and an example of a distributed computing system with high Byzantine fault tolerance. Decentralized consensus can therefore be achieved with a blockchain. This makes the blockchain model suitable for event logging, medical records and other record management activities, identity management, Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 30 / 136 16 / 39 transaction processing and proof of origin. This offers the potential for mass disintermediation and vast repercussions on how global trade is conducted.

[0026] A blockchain facilitates secure online transactions. A blockchain is a decentralized digital ledger that records transactions on thousands of computers globally in such a way that the recorded transactions cannot be altered retrospectively. This allows participants to verify and audit transactions cheaply. Transactions are authenticated through mass collaboration driven by collective interests. The result is a robust workflow where participants' uncertainty regarding data security is marginal. The use of a blockchain removes the infinite reproducibility characteristic of a digital asset. It confirms that each unit of digital money has been spent only once, solving the old double-spending problem. Blockchains have been described as a value exchange protocol. This value exchange can be completed faster, more securely, and more cheaply with a blockchain.A blockchain can assign property rights because it provides a record that binds offer and acceptance. From a technical standpoint, a blockchain is a chain of hashes within another chain of hashes.

[0027] A blockchain database can comprise two types of records: transactions and blocks. Blocks can contain batches of valid transactions that are hashed and encoded in a Merkle tree. Each block can include the hash of the previous block in the blockchain, connecting the two. Variants of this format have been used previously, for example, in Git, and may not be sufficient on their own to qualify as a blockchain. Linked blocks form a chain. This iterative process confirms the integrity of the previous block, back to the original genesis block. Some blockchains create a new block as frequently as five seconds. As blockchains age, they are said to grow in height. Blocks are structured by layering. Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, p. 31 / 136 17 / 39

[0028] Sometimes, separate blocks can be validated simultaneously, creating a temporary fork. In addition to a secure hash-based history, each blockchain has a specific algorithm for scoring different versions of the history, so that one with a higher value can be selected over others. Blocks that are not selected for inclusion in the chain are called orphan blocks. Peers supporting the database do not have exactly the same version of the history all the time; instead, they maintain the version with the highest score from the database they currently know. Whenever a peer receives a higher-scoring version (usually the older version with a single new block added), it extends or overwrites its own database and relays the improvement to its peers.There is never an absolute guarantee that any specific entry will remain in the best historical version forever, but since blockchains are typically built to add the score of new blocks to old blocks, and there are incentives to work only on extension with new blocks rather than overwriting old blocks, the probability of an entry being replaced decreases exponentially as more blocks are built upon it, eventually becoming very low. For example, in a blockchain that uses the proof-of-work system, the chain with the highest number of accumulated proofs of work is always considered valid by the network. In practice, there are several methods that can demonstrate a sufficient level of computation. In a blockchain, computation is performed redundantly, rather than in the traditional, segregated, and parallel way.

[0029] Maintaining a database on a blockchain is called mining, which refers to the distributed computational review process performed on each block of data in a blockchain. This allows for consensus to be reached in an environment where neither party knows or trusts the other. Those involved in Bitcoin mining are rewarded for their efforts with Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 32 / 136 18 / 39 Newly created Bitcoins and transaction fees, which can be transferred to a user's digital wallet upon completion of a designated task. Bitcoin miners can be located anywhere in the world and can be operated by anyone. The mining hardware is connected to the blockchain network via an internet connection. Therefore, little infrastructure is needed to operate and contribute to the system. All that is required to become a Bitcoin miner is the appropriate computer hardware, an internet connection, and low-cost electricity. The cheaper the electricity, the greater the reward the miner will receive compared to the competition, other miners.

[0030] Mining involves the process of adding transaction records to Bitcoin's public ledger of past transactions. This ledger of past transactions is called the blockchain, as it is essentially a chain of blocks. The blockchain serves to confirm transactions to the rest of the network as having occurred. Bitcoin nodes use the blockchain to distinguish legitimate Bitcoin transactions from attempts to redeem coins that have already been spent elsewhere. Mining can be intentionally designed to be resource-intensive and difficult so that the number of blocks found daily by miners remains stable. Individual blocks may need to contain proof of work to be considered valid. This proof of work is verified by other Bitcoin nodes each time they receive a block. Currently, Bitcoin uses the hash cash proof-of-work function.

[0031] One of the purposes of mining is to allow Bitcoin nodes to reach a secure and inviolable consensus. Mining can also be the mechanism used to introduce Bitcoins into the system: miners receive transaction fees as well as a subsidy for newly created coins. This serves both to disseminate new coins in a decentralized way and to motivate people to provide security for the system. Bitcoin mining is thus Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 33 / 136 19 / 39 is called that because it resembles mining other commodities: it requires effort and slowly releases new coins at a rate similar to mining commodities like gold.

[0032] Mining requires computational effort in the form of CPU cycles (CPU = central processing unit or central processor) to execute a cryptographic hash algorithm associated with the specific blockchain protocol. For a given mining processor, it is possible to modify the computational effort by altering the core voltage or the processor clock rate. This can result in more or less energy consumed by the mining processor and, in some embodiments of this document, such alterations are described as altering the mining activity, or hash rate.

[0033] As the total computational effort of the network (or hash rate) increases on a blockchain over time, the probability of an individual miner finding a block and receiving a reward decreases. Today, the Bitcoin network is so large that most individuals involved in Bitcoin mining typically mine in pools using protocols such as the Stratum Mining Protocol. The resource pool allows individual miners to increase the frequency of their rewards in exchange for splitting the block reward with the rest of the pool. Miners who mine in a pool do not need the associated equipment required to run a mining node, as they only need to calculate and submit the proof-of-work quotas issued by the mining pool.

[0034] As the energy cost of blockchain mining or other HEDC equipment is the main operational cost, a trend towards low-cost hydroelectric mining has become predominant. This trend has promoted the centralization of blockchain miners in specific countries with abundant hydroelectric power, since miners that do not Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 34 / 136 20 / 39 have access to cheap hydroelectric power but are unable to mine profitably because they compete with miners who do. The centralization of Bitcoin mining has occurred in locations with abundant, low-cost hydroelectric power. Centralization in blockchain mining is undesirable because the premise behind blockchain innovation is not having to rely on third parties and having inherent trust and security through a decentralized and distributed network. Therefore, there is a need to further decentralize Bitcoin and other blockchain mining through a more decentralized and low-cost energy source.

[0035] Mining is primarily a record-keeping service performed using computer processing power. Miners keep the blockchain consistent, complete, and unalterable by repeatedly grouping newly transmitted transactions into a block, which is then transmitted to the network and verified by receiving nodes. Currently, each block contains a SHA-256 cryptographic hash of the previous block, linking it to the previous block and giving the blockchain its name. To be accepted by the rest of the network, a new block must contain a proof-of-work (PoW). PoW requires miners to find a number called a nonce (a number used only once), such that when the block's contents are hashed together with the nonce, the result is numerically less than the network's difficulty target. This PoW is easy to verify for any node on the network, but extremely time-consuming to generate.Miners must try several different nonce values ​​(usually the sequence of values ​​tested are increasing natural numbers: 0, 1, 2, 3, ...) before a result is less than the target difficulty. Because the target difficulty is extremely small compared to a typical SHA256 hash, block hashes have many leading zeros, as can be seen in this example block hash: 00000000000000000000590fc0f3eba193a278534220b2b37e9849e1a770ca959. Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, p. 35 / 136 21 / 39 By adjusting this target difficulty, the amount of work required to generate a block can be altered. Every 2,016 blocks (currently approximately 14 days, considering approximately 10 minutes per block), nodes deterministically adjust the target difficulty based on the recent block generation rate, aiming to maintain the average time between new blocks at ten minutes. In this way, the system automatically adapts to the total amount of mining power on the network. In April 2022, it took, on average, 122 sextillion (122 thousand billion billion) attempts to generate a block hash lower than the target difficulty. Calculations of this magnitude are extremely expensive and require specialized hardware.

[0036] The proof-of-work system, along with block chaining, makes modifications to the blockchain extremely difficult, as an attacker needs to modify every subsequent block for the modifications to a block to be accepted. As new blocks are continuously generated, the difficulty of modifying an old block increases over time and as the number of subsequent blocks (also called confirmations of the block in question) increases.

[0037] The vast majority of mining power is pooled into mining pools to reduce variation in miner income. Independent miners may have to work for several years to mine a single block of transactions and receive payment. In a mining pool, all participating miners are paid each time any participant generates a block. This payment is proportional to the amount of work each miner contributed to the pool.

[0038] Decentralized cryptocurrencies are produced collectively by the entire cryptocurrency system, at a rate defined when the system is created and publicly known. In centralized banking and economic systems, such as the US Federal Reserve System, corporate boards or Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 36 / 136 22 / 39 governments control the money supply. In the case of decentralized cryptocurrencies, companies or governments cannot produce new units and, to date, have not provided support to other companies, banks, or corporate entities that hold the asset value measured in them. The underlying technical system on which decentralized cryptocurrencies are based was created by the group or individual known as Satoshi Nakamoto. As of May 2018, there were over 1,800 cryptocurrency specifications. In a proof-of-work cryptocurrency system, such as Bitcoin, the security, integrity, and balance of accounting records are maintained by a community of mutually distrusted parties, called miners: who use their computers to help validate and record transactions, adding them to the ledger according to a specific timestamp scheme.In a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain, transactions are validated by the holders of the associated cryptocurrency, sometimes grouped into stake pools. Most cryptocurrencies are designed to gradually decrease the production of that currency, establishing a limit on the total amount of that currency that will be in circulation. Compared to common currencies held by financial institutions or as cash, cryptocurrencies can be more difficult for law enforcement to seize.

[0039] Referring to Figure 3, an example of a self-contained high-energy-density computing system, such as a self-contained HEDC system, is illustrated. The system 10 may comprise a low-temperature thermal machine (LTHE) 12, a heat exchanger 16, and a high-energy-density computing (HEDC) device 22, such as a blockchain mining device. One or both a cooling fluid circuit 24 and a working fluid circuit 26 may be present, for example, formed by piping. The LTHE 12 may have the working fluid circuit 26 extended between a heat source and a heat sink, such as a heat exchanger. Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 37 / 136 23 / 39 heat 27 from the heat source and a heat exchanger 28 from the heat sink. The heat exchanger 16 may be in the working fluid circuit 26. The HEDC device 22 may be connected to receive electricity generated by the LTHE 12, for example, via power cables 40. The cooling fluid circuit 24 may be extended between the HEDC device 22 and the working fluid circuit 26, for example, between the device 22 and the heat exchanger 16. During use, electricity may be generated using the low-temperature thermal machine (LTHE) 12. The HEDC device 22 may be operated using electricity generated by the LTHE 12, for example, to perform blockchain mining processes. The HEDC device may be cooled simultaneously, for example, by heat exchange with the working fluid of the LTHE 12.

[0040] Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) is a relatively obscure example of a power generation process that incorporates a LTHE. OTEC utilizes the ocean thermal gradient between colder deep waters and warmer or shallower surface waters to power a heat engine and produce useful work, usually in the form of electricity. OTEC can operate with a very high capacity factor and therefore can operate in baseload mode. The denser masses of cold water, formed by the interaction of ocean surface water with the cold atmosphere in very specific areas of the North Atlantic and the Southern Ocean, sink into seafloor basins and spread throughout the deep ocean by thermohaline circulation. The upwelling of cold water from the deep ocean is replenished by the upwelling of cold water from the surface sea.Among ocean energy sources, OTEC is one of the continuously available renewable energy resources that can contribute to baseload power supply. The resource potential for OTEC is considered much greater than for other forms of ocean energy. Some experts believe it could reach up to 88,000 TWh / year. Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 38 / 136 24 / 39 of energy could be generated from OTEC without affecting the ocean's thermal structure. OTEC systems can be closed-cycle or open-cycle. Closed-cycle OTEC can use working fluids that are normally considered refrigerants, such as ammonia or R-134a. These fluids have low boiling points and are therefore suitable for powering the system's generator and generating electricity. The most commonly used thermal cycle for OTEC to date is the Rankine cycle, which uses a low-pressure turbine. Open-cycle engines use steam from the seawater itself as the working fluid.

[0041] Referring to Figures 1 to 3, LTHE 12 can perform a suitable energy conversion process, such as an ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) process. Figure 1 shows two types of OTEC power plant installations: an onshore installation 46 and an offshore installation 48. The HEDC system can be part of either installation 46 or 48 to place the HEDC device 22 and LTHE 12 together. Placement can be achieved by situating the device 22, for example, a containerized blockchain mining platform, adjacent to or in close proximity to LTHE 12, for example, at a distance of zero to 500 meters from each other, although distances greater than 500 meters can be used. In the example shown, an onshore installation 46 can include a power plant 49 and a HEDC building 56, located adjacent to a body of water, such as the ocean.In an offshore example, the installation 48 may form a vessel 47, for example, a barge, as shown, supporting the power plant 49 and the HEDC, for example, building 56. Building 56 may house an HEDC device 22, which may be connected to exchange heat and / or receive energy from the power plant 49 by means of appropriate connections 58, such as cabling or piping. In both onshore and offshore examples, the OTEC power plant 49 may receive cold water from a cold water pipeline 50, the inlet of which may be located below a surface 76 of the ocean or other body of water in which the OTEC process is. Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 39 / 136 25 / 39 carried out, for example, on or near the ocean or seabed. Similarly, the OTEC power plant can receive warm water from the warm water pipeline, whose inlet may be located on or near the ocean surface. The mixed temperature pipeline can also be used as an inlet or outlet for this water.

[0042] Referring to Figures 1 and 2, as mentioned, the offshore example of an OTEC installation 48 may involve the use of a vessel 47. One or both of the HEDC devices 22 (represented by building 56) and the OTEC power plant 49 may be located on the vessel 47, which may be one or more vessels. In some cases, the power plant 49 and the device 22 are on separate vessels, or one or the other is located on land. The offshore embodiments of the present system 10 may be used to perform the methods described while the vessel 47 is floating on the ocean. In one example, which may be called navigation, the methods may be performed while the vessel 47 is in motion. The ability to relocate the installation 48 may be beneficial in assisting the user to select an ideal or suitable water location to perform the power generation and HEDC operations.In the example shown, several techniques can be used to assist the operation of system 10; for example, piping, such as piping 52 or 54, can depend directly on boat 47. Piping 50 can also depend on boat 47, but it can incorporate various parts to stabilize and support piping 50. A transfer pipe 60 can be supported by boat 47 and a pipe pendant 62, which can be connected to a float 78 on the ocean surface 76. The use of a float system 78 can be used to assist in securing piping 50. Various weights, such as weights 66 and 72, and cables or other mooring lines 68, 72, and 80 can be used to anchor piping 50 where desired – in the example shown, on the ocean bottom 74. Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 40 / 136 26 / 39

[0043] Referring to Figure 3, an example of a self-contained HEDC system 10 is presented. One or more circulation pumps 38 and 18 may be present in the cooling fluid circuit or the working fluid circuit, respectively, to conduct the fluid around each circuit. The example shown involves closed-loop cooling fluid and working fluid circuits. In the working fluid circuit 26 of the LTHE 12, the working fluid, such as ammonia, circulates between the hot and cold regions of the circuit.

[0044] Referring to Fig. 3, LTHE 12 may comprise a turbomachine, such as a turbine 14, connected to generate electricity for device 22 HEDC. Turbomachines, in mechanical engineering, can describe machines that transfer energy between a rotor and a fluid, including turbines and compressors. A turbine is a rotating mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced can be used to generate electrical energy when combined with a generator. A turbine is a turbomachine with at least one moving part called a rotor assembly, which is a shaft or drum with attached blades. The moving fluid acts on the blades so that they move and transmit rotational energy to the rotor.

[0045] Referring to Fig. 3, the operation of the LTHE 12 can proceed as follows in the example shown. Relatively cold working fluid, such as liquefied working fluid, can enter heat exchanger 27 from the heat source through pipe 26E. In the exchanger 27, the working fluid can be heated, for example, gasified, using the heat from the warm water entering the exchanger 27 through pipe 30, with the warm water exiting the exchanger 27 through pipe 32. The hot working fluid can then travel through pipe 26A to heat exchanger 16, which is connected downstream of heat exchanger 27 from the heat source and upstream of turbomachine 14. The working fluid can be heated again within heat exchanger 16 and subsequently, Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, p. 41 / 136 27 / 39 is passed through pipe 26B to turbine 14, where the working fluid performs work to generate electricity. Upon exiting turbine 14, the working fluid may travel through pipe 26C to a heat exchanger 28 of the heat sink, where the working fluid is cooled and, in some cases, liquefied, by heat exchange with relatively cold water from pipe 34 (which may then exit the exchanger 28 via pipe 36). The now-cold working fluid may travel through pipe 28D and may be transported at any point in the process by means of a circulation pump 18. The cold working fluid may travel through pipe 28E back to the exchanger 27 to repeat the electricity generation process.

[0046] Referring to Fig. 3, the HEDC device or devices 22 can operate and be cooled synergistically with the LTHE process 12. As mentioned, the operation of the turbine 14 can generate electricity, which can be supplied to power the device 22 via cables 40. The operation of the device 22 can generate heat, particularly where high-energy-consuming HEDC processes are being carried out by the device 22. A cooling fluid circuit 24 can carry a coolant, such as water, through a circuit to cool the device 22. In the example shown, a closed circuit 24 is shown, but other cases may incorporate an open-circuit cooling system for the device 22. In the example shown, the hot coolant exits the device 22 through piping 24A and can, at any suitable point in the circuit 24, be carried by a circulation pump 38.The refrigerant travels through pipe 24B to heat exchanger 16, where heat is exchanged from the refrigerant and supplied to the working fluid traveling in circuit 26. After losing heat and having its temperature reduced in exchanger 16 due to heat transfer to the working fluid, the relatively cooled refrigerant then travels back to device 22 through pipe 24C, where the refrigerant receives heat and increases its temperature by exchanging heat with device 22, cooling device 22 in turn. Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 42 / 136 28 / 39

[0047] Referring to Fig. 3, in some cases, the refrigerant is used to superheat the working fluid by means of heat exchange. For example, the working fluid circulating in pipe 26A may be at or below the boiling point of the working fluid. This fluid may enter the exchanger 16 and be superheated by heat exchange with the refrigerant. In thermodynamics, superheating (sometimes called delayed boiling or delayed boiling) is the phenomenon in which a liquid is heated to a temperature above its boiling point without boiling. This is the so-called metastable state or metastable state, where boiling can occur at any time, induced by external or internal effects. The heat exchanger and the cooling fluid circuit can therefore be structured to superheat the working fluid in the working fluid circuit.Superheating the working fluid can improve the operation of the downstream turbine 14, as the turbine allows for the rapid expansion of the working fluid to perform work and generate electricity.

[0048] Referring to Figures 9 and 10, a 22 HEDC device may incorporate various suitable parts and connections. Referring to Figure 10, the 22 HEDC device may comprise a plurality of processors 100 connected to a network interface 124, such as a satellite unit or other suitable part for connection to a remote network. The network interface 124 may be connected to receive and transmit data, for example, over the internet, to a peer-to-peer network that stores or has access to a blockchain database. A blockchain database is a distributed database stored on multiple nodes in the peer-to-peer network and that stores transactional information for a digital currency. It is understood that the blockchain database is operated by third parties, typically mining nodes or pools, and during operation, a user executing the method will use the interface 124 to connect and receive instructions / send proof of work to the database, node, or mining pool.Processors 100 can be connected to network interface 124. Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 43 / 136 29 / 39 and adapted to mine transactions associated with the blockchain database and to communicate with the blockchain database.

[0049] Referring to Figure 9, a 22 HEDC device, for example, one designed for Bitcoin mining, machine learning, or supercomputing, may incorporate one or more processors 100 with an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chip, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), graphics processing units (GPUs), or tensor processing units (TPUs). An ASIC may be an integrated circuit (IC) chip customized for a specific use, rather than intended for general use. For example, a chip designed to run in a digital voice recorder or a high-efficiency Bitcoin miner is an ASIC. Application-specific standard product (ASSP) chips may be intermediate between ASICs and industry-standard integrated circuits, such as the 7400 or 4000 series. ASIC chips may typically be manufactured using metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) technology, as MOS integrated circuit chips.As resource sizes have decreased and design tools have improved over the years, the maximum complexity (and therefore functionality) possible in an ASIC has grown from 5,000 logic gates to over 100 million. Modern ASICs typically include entire microprocessors, memory blocks including ROM, RAM, EEPROM, flash memory, and other large building blocks. Such an ASIC is often referred to as a SoC (system on a chip). Digital ASIC designers often use a hardware description language (HDL), such as Verilog or VHDL, to describe the functionality of the ASICs. Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are the modern technology for building a breadboard or prototype from standard parts; programmable logic blocks and programmable interconnects allow the same FPGA to be used in many different applications. For smaller projects or lower production volumes, FPGAs can be more economical than... Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, p. 44 / 136 30 / 39 that an ASIC project, even in production. The non-recurring engineering (NRE) cost of an ASIC can reach millions of dollars. Therefore, device manufacturers generally prefer FPGAs for prototyping and low-volume production devices and ASICs for very large production volumes, where NRE costs can be amortized across many devices. One or more ASIC chips may be contained within each processor, for example, located in single or multiple arrays or groups on one or more hash boards. TPUs (Tensor Processing Units) are AI accelerator chips designed specifically for machine learning workloads. They are application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) built from scratch to efficiently execute machine learning models, especially for inference in applications such as image recognition, speech recognition, and language understanding.TPUs excel at performing tensor calculations that are fundamental to deep neural networks. Their architecture is optimized for low-precision arithmetic operations used in deep learning, allowing for very high computational throughput, and they are more energy- and space-efficient than general-purpose processors like CPUs or GPUs for these workloads. GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) are specialized processors originally designed for graphics rendering and image processing. However, their highly parallel architecture has made them suitable for various computationally intensive workloads, such as machine learning, deep learning, scientific simulations, financial modeling, and computational biology.GPUs contain thousands of smaller, more efficient cores designed to handle multiple tasks simultaneously, unlike CPUs, which have fewer cores and are more powerful. This parallel processing capability allows GPUs to accelerate applications that can be parallelized across the GPU's various cores. GPUs require models of... Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 45 / 136 31 / 39 specialized programming, such as CUDA or OpenCL, to effectively leverage its parallel architecture.

[0050] Referring to Figure 9, each processor 100 may have suitable characteristics. The example shown illustrates an S9i™ device manufactured and sold in association with the ANTMINER™ brand by BITMAIN™ for Bitcoin transaction mining purposes. Processor 100 may incorporate one or more controllers 108. The Antminer™ S9i™ control board (controller 108) utilizes the fast Dual ARM® Cortex®-A9 microprocessor with CoreSight™. The S9i control board may utilize a Xilinx® Zynq®-7000 FPGA with a Dual ARM® Cortex®-A9 microprocessor. Processor 100 may include a network connector 110 (for an Ethernet cable), such as one that supports Gigabit Ethernet, to ensure that mined blocks are sent instantly. Each processor board 112 can be mounted in a processor body 102 and contains one or more application-specific integrated circuit chips.Each Antminer™ S9i™ employs a plurality of ASICs, for example, 189 of these chips, to provide higher hash rates and efficiency than any other Bitcoin miner ever manufactured. The processor can comprise a suitable body for mounting components. In the example shown, the body is a high-quality aluminum structure.

[0051] Referring to Fig. 9, processor 100 may include one or more cooling mechanisms. Body 102 may include one or more heat sinks. One or more fans may be connected to direct fluid, such as air, through a cooling fluid (coolant) passage through body 102 and through processor 100 ASIC, to maintain processor 100 ASIC within a respective operating temperature range during use. One or more temperature sensors (not shown) may be used to monitor the temperature and adjust the operation of the fan and / or the computer. Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, p. 46 / 136 32 / 39 The fans may include an intake fan 104 at one intake end of the body 102. The fans may include an exhaust fan 106 at one exhaust end of the body 102. Using two high-speed, computer-controlled fans 104 and 106 at both ends of a tubular body 102, hot fluid is rapidly replaced with cooler fluid at the required speed. By using two computer-controlled fans to keep the processor 100 cool, it remains efficient and powerful. The processor 100 may use a combination of conduction and convection cooling so that the miner performs at its best without overheating more than any other Bitcoin terahash miner. In some cases, each chip of the processor 100 may be fitted with custom heatsinks, for example, made of a high-quality aluminum alloy.

[0052] Referring to Figures 3 and 10, a device 22 HEDC can exchange heat with a cooling fluid circuit 24 by means of a suitable means. In the example shown, the device 22 can be cooled by means of an immersion cooling process, although other processes may be used, including air cooling processes or processes that exchange heat between the air and liquid cooling fluid circuits. In the immersion cooling example, the low-temperature refrigerant enters the device 22 through pipe 24C, absorbing heat from the processors 100, and exits the device 22 through pipe 24A. A pump 38 can transport the refrigerant through pipe 24B to the exchanger 16, where heat exchange occurs with the working fluid in the circuit 26. The relatively lower temperature refrigerant returns to the device 22 through pipe 26C to repeat the process.

[0053] Referring to Figure 10, system 10 can be configured to keep the processor 100 of the HEDC device 22 within a safe operating temperature range, for example, at or near ambient temperature. One or Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 47 / 136 33 / 39 plus 120 controllers can be configured to operate one or both of the LTHE 12 and the cooling fluid circuit 24 and / or the device 22 to maintain a safe operating temperature range. The 120 controller can also be configured to ensure that the working fluid is at an ideal or appropriate temperature and pressure when exiting the exchanger 16 for operation in the turbine 14. Various systems can be incorporated to allow adjustment of the outlet temperatures of the working and cooling fluids to optimize operation. One or more temperature and / or pressure sensors 122 can be used to monitor fluid properties and adjust operation as needed.

[0054] Referring to Fig. 4, an example similar to the embodiment in Fig. 3 is illustrated. The main difference is that in Fig. 4 there is no pump 38. In the example shown, the heat transfer medium employed by the HEDC application (device 22) may allow the pump to be removed.

[0055] Referring to Figure 5, system 10 can operate using a plurality of turbomachines, for example, turbines 14A and 14B. The plurality of turbomachines may comprise a first turbomachine (turbine 14A) downstream of the heat source (exchanger 27), but upstream of heat exchanger 16. The turbomachines may comprise a second turbomachine (turbine 14B) downstream of heat exchanger 16, but upstream of the heat sink (exchanger 28). In the example shown, a LTHE 12 incorporates one or two streams that are reheated by waste heat transferred from the HEDC operation (device 22) by means of a heat exchanger and a twin turbine system that supplies power to the HEDC operation. The working fluid can be cycled between the first turbine 14A, downstream of the heat source but upstream of the heat exchanger 16, and the second turbine 14B, downstream of the heat exchanger 16 but upstream of the heat sink.As the heated working fluid exits the exchanger 27, it travels through pipe 26A-1 to turbine 14A, where work is performed to generate electricity that can be supplied to device 22. Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, p. 48 / 136 34 / 39 through the 40A power cables. After turbine 14A, the working fluid can travel through pipe 26A-2 to exchanger 16, where the working fluid is heated again, but by the coolant in circuit 24. The heated working fluid then travels through pipe 26B to the second turbine 14B. Turbine 14B then generates electricity and supplies it to device 22 via cables 40B.

[0056] Referring to Fig. 6, a variation of the embodiment of Fig. 5 is shown, except with turbine 14A recycling the working fluid back to the exchanger 27. The working fluid circuit 26 can be structured to circulate the working fluid, in series, from the heat exchanger 27 of the heat source, to the first turbomachine 14A, back to the heat exchanger of the heat source and to the second turbomachine. The working fluid circuit 26 can be cycled in series, from a heat exchanger 27 of the heat source, to the first turbomachine (turbine 14A), back to the heat exchanger 27 of the heat source and to the second turbomachine (turbine 14B). Thus, in the example shown, the heated working fluid exits the exchanger 27 and travels through piping 26A-1 to turbine 14A. The 14A turbine then generates electricity, which is supplied by the 40A cables to device 22.The outgoing working fluid then flows through pipe 26A-2 returning to exchanger 27, where the working fluid receives additional heat from the heat source. The heated working fluid then flows through pipe 26A-3 to exchanger 16. The embodiment demonstrates a single flow or two flows reheated by a double-flow heat exchanger in a regenerative Rankine cycle, then superheated by waste heat transferred from the HEDC operation via a heat exchanger apparatus and a twin-turbine system supplying power to the HEDC operation.

[0057] Referring to Fig. 7, an embodiment is illustrated similar to that of Fig. 3, except that the coolant heat exchanger 16 is positioned upstream of the heat source heat exchanger 27. In the example shown, the coolant passing through the exchanger 16 heats the incoming working fluid. Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 49 / 136 35 / 39 through pipe 26E and exits through pipe 26F, upstream of heat exchanger 27 from the heat source.

[0058] Referring to Figure 8, some embodiments of system 10 may incorporate a gas-liquid separator 42. A gas-liquid separator 42 may be provided in the working fluid circuit 26, for example, downstream of the heat source (exchanger 27) and upstream of the turbomachine (turbine 14). The separator 42 may be structured to separate the working fluid from pipe 26A-1 into: a gasified stream that is supplied to turbine 14, for example, via pipe 26A-2, and a liquefied stream that is supplied to the heat exchanger 16, for example, via pipe 26A-3, and then to the turbomachine (turbine 14). The liquefied flow passing through pipe 26A-3 can exchange heat with the coolant via exchanger 16 and subsequently pass to a flow mixing apparatus 44 which recombines the two working fluid flows from pipes 26A-2 and 26B-1 into a flow in pipe 26B-2, which is then supplied to turbine 14.

[0059] EFFICIENCIES AND COST SAVINGS

[0060] The system of the present invention, in any of the embodiments represented in Figures 1 to 10, as well as any other embodiments not represented, in which the waste heat from an HEDC computing application is transferred to an LTHE that provides electrical power, can provide an advantage in both cost and efficiency for the HEDC and LTHE subsystems above individually.

[0061] The efficiency of a simple Rankine cycle (ηtherm) is defined by the following equation: h therm turb Qin (1) Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 50 / 136 36 / 39

[0062] Where Qiné is the heat flow rate to the system and Wturbé is the power produced by the turbine. In any embodiment of the present invention in which waste heat is used to superheat the working fluid, as illustrated in Figures 3, 4 and 6, it is evident that, for certain pressures, superheating the steam increases the efficiency of the Rankine cycle, increasing the VKcurb that can be extracted from the system. Furthermore, it is evident from first principles that, by reincorporating the net output of a heat engine, whether a preheating, reheating, regenerative or superheating cycle, back into itself, Qina is reduced, thus increasing c]therm.

[0063] The efficiency of a data processing center in general is generalized to the following formula for Power Usage Efficiency (PUE), where: PUE = Total energy of the installation Energy from IT equipment (2)

[0064] Where IT Equipment Energy includes only the energy used to power computing devices and where Total Facility Energy also includes IT Equipment, in addition to the energy consumed by everything else in the data processing center (e.g., lighting, cooling, etc.). By directly positioning and integrating an HEDC data processing center within an LTHE-based power plant, each component of the data processing center, excluding computing and cooling devices, falls into the parasitic load category of the power plant, rather than the IT Facility. The cooling energy for the IT equipment, which in a normal data processing center can consume a significant percentage of the IT Equipment energy, can be reduced to theoretically zero by choosing the heat transfer medium and using the LTHE itself as a heat sink.Although the ideal PUE of a zero-point data processing center has been demonstrated in... Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, p. 51 / 136 37 / 39 after a limited period, the invention presented here can sustain it for extended periods.

[0065] Cost savings can be achieved in LTHE and HEDC subsystems through the integration presented in this invention by means of a series of mechanisms. By combining HEDC heat removal equipment with the Rankine cycle, whether by preheating, reheating, regeneration or superheating mechanisms, the equipment required and therefore the cost is reduced. In any embodiment of this invention where the waste heat from the HEDC is used to increase the quality of the working fluid steam entering an LTHE turbine, thereby reducing damage to the turbine blades from corrosion and other condensation effects during expansion. By this method, the service life of a turbine can be extended beyond that of an LTHE without this invention, reducing costs over the lifetime of the power plant and decreasing downtime required for repairs.

[0066] Finally, cost savings are achieved through energy distribution. Exporting energy from a power plant to the electrical grid presents a number of inherent inefficiencies and losses, resulting from turbine controls for precise frequency regulation. By coupling a LTHE directly to an HEDC application, the need for expensive grid connection equipment is eliminated, and turbine efficiency is increased by eliminating the need for frequency regulation. In the case of HEDC, distributing energy in a data processing center, from the grid connection to the IT equipment, requires numerous conversion steps and expensive infrastructure. By eliminating the grid connection and with the flexibility to produce energy in the most suitable way for the specific IT equipment in use, the power distribution equipment can be greatly simplified, eliminating expensive equipment and conversion losses. Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 52 / 136 38 / 39

[0067] In summary, the integration of an LTHE with HEDC, as presented in this invention, allows for the construction of a more efficient data processing center and LTHE.

[0068] In some embodiments, a 22 HEDC device, for example, a blockchain mining device, may be provided within a portable building. A portable building may have walls, a base, a roof, and racks for processors. An example of a suitable building includes an intermodal shipping container – a large standardized shipping container, designed and built for the intermodal transport of cargo, meaning that these containers can be used in different modes of transport – from ship to rail and to truck – without unloading and reloading their cargo. Intermodal containers are primarily used to store and transport materials and products efficiently and safely within the global intermodal containerized cargo transport system, but smaller numbers are also used regionally.These containers are known by various names, such as simply container, cargo or freight container, ISO container, sea container, ocean or maritime container, sea van or box (Conex), sea container or C container. Shipping containers can be transferred between rail, truck and ship by container cranes at container terminals. Forklifts, telescopic container handlers, container trestle carriers and cranes can be used to load and unload trucks or trains outside container terminals. Mobile boxes, side lifts, tipper trucks and hook trucks can allow transfer to and from trucks without additional equipment.Standard ISO containers can be handled and lifted in a variety of ways using their corner fittings, but the structure and strength of 45-foot (type E) containers limit their tolerance to side lifting, and they also cannot be stacked, based on ISO 3874 (1997). Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, page 53 / 136 39 / 39

[0069] Blockchains can be used in association with non-monetary applications, such as in the case of a non-fungible token (NFT), which is a unique and non-interchangeable unit of data stored in a digital ledger (blockchain). NFTs can be associated with easily reproducible items, such as photos, videos, audio, and other types of digital files, as unique items (analogous to a certificate of authenticity). NFTs use blockchain technology to provide public proof of ownership. Copies of the original file are not restricted to the NFT owner and can be copied and shared like any other file. The lack of interchangeability (fungibility) distinguishes NFTs from traditional blockchain cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin. The embodiments of this invention encompass blockchain engagement systems, including those related to cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and others.

[0070] In the claims, the word “including” is used in its inclusive sense and does not exclude the presence of other elements. Indefinite articles “a” and “an” before a claimed feature do not exclude the presence of more than one feature. Each of the individual features described herein may be used in one or more modalities and should not, by virtue of being described herein, be interpreted as essential to all modalities defined by the claims. Petition 870250089738, dated 02 / 10 / 2025, p. 54 / 136

Claims

1 / 6 CLAIMS 1. A self-contained high-energy-density computing data processing center system (10), characterized by comprising: a low-temperature thermal machine (LTHE) (12) with an extended working fluid circuit (26) between a heat source and a heat sink, wherein the LTHE (12) is configured to perform an ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) process in use; a high-energy-density computing data processing center (HEDC) connected to receive electricity generated by the LTHE (12), wherein the self-contained system (10) forms an offshore installation that positions the HEDC device (22) and the LTHE (12); a heat exchanger (16) in the LTHE (12); and an extended cooling fluid circuit (24) between the HEDC and the heat exchanger (16), so that the LTHE (12) is structured to simultaneously provide power and cooling to the HEDC, forming the autonomous HEDC system (10).

2. Self-contained HEDC system (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the heat exchanger (16) is in the working fluid circuit (26).

3. Autonomous HEDC system (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the HEDC comprises a task-specialized configuration of processors (100) comprising one or more of the following: High-performance Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), arranged and interconnected to optimize the performance of specific computational tasks. Petition 870250104997, dated 11 / 17 / 2025, page 15 / 20 2 / 6 4. (10) autonomous HEDC system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the HEDC comprises a blockchain mining device.

5. (10) autonomous HEDC system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the HEDC is configured to perform one or more of the following operations: artificial intelligence, machine learning, large language models, generative AI, neural network and supercomputing.

6. Self-contained HEDC system (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: the LTHE comprises a turbomachine connected to generate electricity for the HEDC device (22); and the heat exchanger (16) is in the working fluid circuit (24) upstream of the turbomachine.

7. Self-contained HEDC system (10) according to claim 6, characterized in that the turbomachine comprises: a first turbomachine downstream of the heat source but upstream of the heat exchanger (16); and a second turbomachine downstream of the heat exchanger (16) but upstream of the heat sink.

8. Self-contained HEDC system (10) according to claim 7, characterized by: a heat exchanger (27) from the heat source being between the heat source and the working fluid circuit (26); and the working fluid circuit (26) being structured to circulate the working fluid, in series, from the heat exchanger (27) from the heat source to the first turbomachine, back to the heat exchanger (27) from the heat source and to the second turbomachine. Petition 870250104997, dated 11 / 17 / 2025, page 16 / 20 3 / 6 9. Self-contained HEDC system (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized by further comprising a gas-liquid separator (42) in the working fluid circuit (26) downstream of the heat source and upstream of the turbomachine, and structured to separate the working fluid into: a gasified flow that is supplied to the turbomachine; and a liquefied flow that is supplied to the heat exchanger (16) and then to the turbomachine.

10. Self-contained HEDC system (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the heat exchanger (16) and the cooling fluid circuit (24) are structured to superheat the working fluid in the working fluid circuit (26).

11. Autonomous HEDC system (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized by further comprising a controller (120) configured to operate the LTHE (12) and the cooling fluid circuit (24) to maintain a processor (100) of the HEDC device (22) within a safe operating temperature range.

12. Self-contained HEDC system (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized by further comprising: a heat exchanger (27) from the heat source between the heat source and the working fluid circuit (26); and a heat exchanger (28) from the heat sink between the heat sink and the working fluid circuit (26).

13. Autonomous HEDC system (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that: the HEDC device (22) comprising a plurality of processors (100) connected to a network interface (124); the network interface (124) being connected to receive and transmit data over the internet. Petition 870250104997, dated 11 / 17 / 2025, page 17 / 20 4 / 6 14. Autonomous HEDC system (10) according to claim 13, characterized in that: the HEDC comprises a blockchain mining device; the network interface (124) being connected to a peer-to-peer network that stores or has access to a blockchain database, which is a distributed database stored on multiple nodes in the peer-to-peer network and stores transactional information for a digital currency; and the processors (100) being connected to the network interface (124) and adapted to mine transactions associated with the blockchain database and to communicate with the blockchain database.

15. Method characterized by comprising operating the HEDC device (22) of the autonomous HEDC system (10) as defined by any of claims 1 to 14 using electricity generated by the LTHE (12).

16. Method characterized by comprising: generating electricity using a low-temperature thermal machine (LTHE) (12) that performs an ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) process; operating a HEDC device (22) using electricity generated by the LTHE (12); and cooling the HEDC device (22) by heat exchange with the LTHE (12); and wherein the method is performed in an offshore installation.

17. Method according to claim 16, characterized in that the electricity generation comprises the circulation of the working fluid around a working fluid circuit (26) of the LTHE (12) between a heat source, a turbomachine and a heat sink.

18. Method according to claim 17, characterized in that the cooling comprises circulating the coolant around a cooling fluid circuit (24) between the HEDC device (22) and a heat exchanger, which is in the working fluid circuit (26) upstream of the turbomachine.

19. Method according to claim 18, characterized in that: the turbomachine comprises a first turbomachine and a second turbomachine; and the working fluid is circulated between: the first turbomachine downstream of the heat source but upstream of the heat exchanger (16); and the second turbomachine downstream of the heat exchanger (16) but upstream of the heat sink.

20. Method according to any one of claims 16 to 19, characterized in that the working fluid circulation comprises: circulating the working fluid from the heat source to a gas-liquid separator (42) in the working fluid circuit (26) downstream of the heat source and upstream of the turbomachine; and separating the working fluid, using the gas-liquid separator (42), into: a gasified stream that is supplied to the turbomachine; and a liquefied stream that is supplied to the heat exchanger (16) and then to the turbomachine.

21. Method according to any one of claims 16 to 20, characterized in that the heat exchange with the working fluid superheats the working fluid in the working fluid circuit (26).

22. Method according to any one of claims 16 to 21, characterized in that the cooling comprises maintaining a processor (100) of the HEDC device (22) within a safe operating temperature range.

23. Method according to any one of claims 16 to 22, characterized by further comprising adjusting an input power of the HEDC device (22) to balance other loads powered by LTHE (12). Petition 870250104997, dated 11 / 17 / 2025, p. 19 / 20 6 / 6

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