China Unveils World’s First Underwater Data Center

China has successfully unveiled the world's first commercial underwater data center (UDC) off the coast of Lingshui County's Hainan Island.

Anchored 115 feet below the surface of the South China Sea, the pressurized, corrosion-resistant UDC weighs almost the same as 1,000 passenger cars, and it marks a new chapter in China's ??Blue Economy?ˉ story to turn the ocean into a greener and safer digital ecosystem.

Cooled by the Ocean

Helmed by Shenzhen HiCloud Data Centre Technology, this sleek facility houses 24 server racks. These racks comprise nearly 500 servers, powering everything from restaurant recommendations to travel guides for millions of users above the sea.

HiCloud's UDC utilizes the stable, cold temperatures of the ocean to reduce energy consumption for cooling by approximately 30%, and its cabin sensors ensure that thermal discharges remain within safe environmental thresholds. The water quality is also monitored to minimize the UDC's ecological impact on the South China Sea.

China's Blue Economy

The Hainan UDC is the first of its kind in the world and marks a strategic chapter in China's expanding blue economy that includes full foreign ownership of data centers and value-added telecom services in Hainan, Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.

Hainan plans to deploy a network of 100 subsea data cabins in the near future, transforming its coastal waters into an undersea cloud computing grid. This, along with the province and China's largest free-trade zone, could make it an apt testing ground for new-age digital policies.

More UDCs in the Making

China has already begun operating a similar UDC off the coast of Shanghai?athis one will be powered by 95% offshore wind energy, making it a near-zero-footprint solution.

The $226 million digital reef currently delivers 2.3 megawatts of computing power through 198 server racks, and plans are in place to scale that up to 24 megawatts.

Image credit: boulham/Shutterstock

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