World’s First Offshore Wind-Powered Underwater Data Center

As AI infrastructure power and cooling demands continue to rise globally, offshore-powered and ocean-cooled data centers are increasingly being explored as alternative approaches for future computing infrastructure.

A module of the underwater data center in China being put into the sea | People's Daily

The underwater data center (UDC) is positioned between the first and second phases of Shanghai Lingang’s offshore wind farm in China. Pressure-resistant subsea modules housing nearly 2,000 servers are deployed underwater adjacent to offshore wind turbines, allowing the facility to draw electricity directly from renewable energy sources.

According to project developers, the system supports workloads ranging from artificial intelligence and big data annotation to 5G infrastructure and domestic large language model development. Unlike conventional land-based facilities that rely heavily on industrial chillers and HVAC systems, the Shanghai UDC uses seawater from the surrounding area as a passive cooling mechanism.

A representative from HiCloud Technology explained the process: “Our backplane air conditioners draw in hot air generated from the servers and change the refrigerant in the copper pipes from liquid to gas. The gas rises to the cooling layer of the upper module by its own buoyancy, where it exchanges heat with a heat exchanger through seawater and changes back from gas to liquid. Finally, gravity returns it to the server room of the data warehouse, forming a heat exchange system that does not require power.”

Developers claim the underwater design reduces electricity consumption by 23 percent, eliminates freshwater use, and cuts land use requirements by more than 90 percent.

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