China has introduced the first-ever offshore wind-powered underwater data center, marking a significant step in sustainable data infrastructure. Positioned nearly 10 miles off the Shanghai coast and submerged 10 meters below the sea surface, this facility relies primarily on renewable energy from a nearby offshore wind farm and uses seawater for natural cooling.
The Shanghai Lingang undersea data center, with a capacity of 24 megawatts, was developed through a collaboration between HiCloud Technology and the state-owned China Communications Construction. It is located within the Lin-gang Special Zone of the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone. The project required an investment of approximately $238 million and reflects growing efforts to reduce the environmental burden caused by traditional land-based data centers.
Traditional data centers consume large amounts of electricity not only for computing but also for cooling. Typically, between 25 and 40 percent of their electricity drives water pumps that circulate cool water to prevent server overheating. This practice has raised concerns among environmentalists due to substantial freshwater consumption and increased land use. The new offshore data center addresses these issues by utilizing the ocean’s natural cooling capacity, eliminating the need for freshwater cooling systems.
The Chinese government reports that this underwater facility consumes over 95 percent green electricity, reducing overall energy demand by nearly 23 percent compared to terrestrial data centers. It also cuts freshwater use entirely and lowers land footprint by more than 90 percent. Such reductions are critical as researchers from the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment, and Health warn that global data centers could consume upwards of 9.3 trillion liters of water by 2030, an amount sufficient to meet the drinking needs of more than a billion people.
In East Asia, countries including South Korea and Japan are also exploring underwater and floating data center concepts as they seek to balance surging artificial intelligence computing needs with environmental sustainability. The new Chinese initiative showcases how integrating renewable power sources and innovative cooling techniques can transform data center operations amid rising global demand.