China is testing an underwater data center off the coast of Shanghai. The data center should operate more sustainably and much more efficiently than its counterparts on land.
It’s not an everyday sight: server racks sinking to the bottom of the sea. A consortium of Chinese technology companies has started a test project off the coast of Shanghai. The data center is set to become the first fully
read also
Who will cool and power AI server racks of 1 MW (and how)?
The project was realized through a collaboration between Chinese energy and technology companies. That makes this specific data center a Chinese state project, but the experiment may be of interest to other continents. The high energy consumption by data centers is a global concern. Major players such as Microsoft and Google are looking to nuclear energy to reduce the environmental impact of data centers.
Underwater
The data center is housed at a depth of 35 meters in the Lin-gang zone off the coast of Shanghai. An initial 2.3 megawatts is already operational, which could eventually be expanded to 24 megawatts. The server racks are located in – of course – waterproof capsules with a protective layer against corrosion from the salty seawater.
The cooling of the servers is regulated entirely naturally by the seawater. By avoiding cooling machines and using seawater as heat dissipation, operator Shanghai Hicloud claims that it can bring the energy consumption efficiency (PUE) below 1.15, which is lower and therefore more efficient than data centers on land. 95 percent of the energy could be extracted from the sea breeze.
It remains to be seen whether the project can prove itself in the long term. From 2013 to 2024, Microsoft tried to experiment with underwater data center capacity, but high maintenance costs ultimately relegated the project to the dustbin.
Seawater can also serve as a source of cooling for data centers on land via closed circuits. Schneider Electric is testing this on the coast of Portugal. ITdaily took a look there this summer.
read also