China has officially launched on June 10, 2025 what is being described as the world’s first commercial underwater data center (UDC) project powered by an offshore wind farm in Shanghai.
Location: Shanghai’s Lin-gang special area, part of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone.
Power Source: The project is powered by offshore wind energy, making it a significant step towards green computing infrastructure.
Commercial Scale: It’s highlighted as the “world’s first commercial” project of its kind, distinguishing it from earlier prototypes (like Microsoft’s Project Natick).
Partnership: The project is a joint effort involving the administrative committee of Lin-gang, Shanghai Lingang Special Area Investment Holding Group Co., Ltd., and Shanghai Hicloud Technology Co., Ltd.
Phased Development: It will be developed in two phases, starting with a 2.3 MW demonstration unit (expected to be operational by September this year) and scaling up to a 24 MW data cluster.
Environmental Benefits: The UDC integrates natural seawater cooling, which is expected to significantly reduce energy consumption (30-40% compared to land-based centers) and achieve near-zero carbon emissions, with over 90% of energy coming from offshore wind.
This initiative truly marks a notable advancement in sustainable digital infrastructure by combining renewable energy sources with computing infrastructure to meet the growing global demand for low-carbon, AI-ready data solutions. https://www.facebook.com/jeff.mah.5/videos/708600755436502/?__cft__[0]=AZVONhRGtvbamo5Qz5AYgbpVsxj9hn04c03yig7fZinbHYpOXZ9SaiyHiwZ1SWdOGfxcs4GSaXfosm6lrAdJgTl8D-R8aRP4m5ZD0Bc6VggjJ4RGCGm1aMkRCtaJRk8LvJw-27LpIL2Yp4PUtVEovxH–3IPlqutmQ_Icf-GX9dW0g&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
