Site Commissioning Programme

Sterling Digital PLC

12 August 2026

 

12 August 2026

Sterling Digital plc


("Sterling" or the "Company")

Site Commissioning Programme

Sterling Digital plc (AQSE: ASIC), a company established to develop low-energy-cost digital asset mining operations in the United States, is pleased to provide an update on the continued commissioning of its West Texas power-generation and Bitcoin mining site.

The Company's two 2 MW Caterpillar natural gas generators are running and producing electricity. The commissioning programme has now advanced beyond the initial start-up and tuning of the individual generators and into the live integrated testing and validation of the complete on-site power plant.

The generators, albeit important, represent only one part of a wider gas-to-power facility that Sterling has constructed from the ground up. The complete plant incorporates the pipeline gas supply and regulation systems, generator cooling and lubrication systems, switchgear, control systems, electrical protection equipment and power-distribution infrastructure.

Before commercial operations commence, these systems must be tested together, under live operating conditions, to confirm that the entire plant responds reliably, safely and consistently as one coordinated system.

The commissioning team is bringing each subsystem into service in sequence, testing its performance and then validating its interaction with the remainder of the plant. Commissioning actions identified during this process are investigated, resolved, retested and formally closed out one by one.

The use of pipeline-supplied natural gas simplifies the fuel-handling requirements of the plant when compared with untreated field or flare gas. Sterling's five-year Gas Purchase Agreement secures access to up to 6,500 MMBtu per day and is expected to support up to 25 MW of computing capability, providing a defined pathway for expansion beyond the initial deployment.

The next operational milestone will be the controlled energisation of Sterling's fleet of 420 ASIC mining servers, representing approximately 193,500 terahashes per second of computing capacity, followed by the commencement of Bitcoin production.

By generating electricity directly at the site from contracted low-cost West Texas natural gas, Sterling retains direct control over the principal variable cost in Bitcoin mining and avoids reliance on grid-supplied power for its operations.

Stefan Michaelides, CEO of Sterling Digital, commented:

"Starting both generators and producing electricity was a major operational milestone, but it was never the whole job. We are not simply delivering two generators, connecting them and switching them on - the ambition was greater than that. We have built a complete power plant from the ground up.

Every part of this system must perform correctly on its own and work together under live conditions. The plant is now operational, power is flowing, and our commissioning team is working through the final tests.

We are extremely pleased with the progress being made. This first power plant represents the physical validation of Sterling's low-cost, behind-the-meter energy model, and establishes a real foundation to scale from. As development continues and the project moves closer to full production readiness, we look forward to providing further updates in the coming weeks."

The Directors of the Company accept responsibility for the contents of this announcement.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014 (which forms part of domestic UK law pursuant to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018). The Directors of the Company are responsible for the contents of this announcement.

For further information, please visit www.sterlingdigital.com or contact:

Sterling Digital Plc:	[phone]
Guy Winterflood Non-executive Chairman	[e-mail]
Cairn Financial Advisers LLP	[phone]
AQSE Corporate Adviser
Jo Turner / Liam Murray / Ed Downes
Oak Securities	[phone]
Broker
Damion Carruel / Calvin Man
Vigo Consulting
Investor Relations Patrick d'Ancona / Ben Simons / Amelia Thorn / Safia Colebrook	[phone] [e-mail]

About Sterling Digital plc

Sterling Digital plc (AQSE: ASIC) uses modular infrastructure and low-cost, economically stranded natural gas in West Texas to power high margin digital asset production directly at the source.

The Company's initial focus is on West Texas which benefits from significant energy resources, established infrastructure, and constrained gas markets, creating an opportunity to convert underutilised gas into productive computing power.

Power is generated from the offtake of underutilised, economically stranded natural gas in the WAHA pipeline in West Texas, secured under a five-year Gas Purchase Agreement, and converted to electricity using the Company's proprietary energy optimisation infrastructure.

Sterling has entered into a five-year gas purchase agreement for natural gas supply, including surface-use rights, in Martin County, West Texas. The agreement secures access to up to 6,500 MMBtu per day from the WAHA pipeline and is expected to support up to 25 MW of computing capability. The Company's two 2 MW Caterpillar natural gas generators are delivering approximately 1.6 MW net power, together powering Sterling's current fleet of 420 ASIC mining servers, representing approximately 193,500 terahashes per second (TH/s) of computing capacity.

Digital assets will be deposited into the Company's institutional-grade custody account with Coinbase, in accordance with Sterling's stated Bitcoin treasury strategy.

Visit our website: https://sterlingdigital.com/

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sterling-digital-plc/
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Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements in this announcement are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as "believe", "could", "should", "envisage'', "estimate", "intend", "may", "plan", "potentially", "expect", "will" or the negative of those, variations or comparable expressions, including references to assumptions. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but rather on the Directors' current expectations and assumptions regarding the Company's future growth, results of operations, performance, future capital and other expenditures (including the amount, nature and sources of funding thereof), competitive advantages, business prospects and opportunities. Such forward-looking statements reflect the Directors' current beliefs and assumptions and are based on information currently available to the Directors.

 

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