- China’s underwater data center merges deep-sea cooling with renewable wind energy
- The Lin-gang project delivers 2.3 megawatts in its first operational phase
- Natural ocean cooling replaces conventional chillers in new China data center
China’s experiment in submerging digital infrastructure under the ocean has now moved from theory to commercial reality.
The Lin-gang Special Area in Shanghai has become home to what the country calls the world’s first underwater data center.
The $226 million project combines renewable energy with deep water cooling to improve efficiency and sustainability.
A new phase in data infrastructure
The first stage of the Lin-gang facility is operational and producing 2.3 megawatts of capacity, and developers say the full build will eventually reach 24 megawatts.
This result would put it well ahead of Microsoft’s Project Natick, which was primarily an experimental effort and was abandoned in 2024.
The 35m-deep subsea facility is supported by major state-backed entities including Shenergy, China Telecom’s Shanghai branch and CCCC Third Harbor Engineering.
Its operator, Shanghai Hicloud, has already outlined a vision for a much larger expansion of 500 megawatts into marine environments.
From a technical point of view, the method is straightforward: servers are enclosed in watertight capsules and placed on the seabed.
The natural properties of the ocean act as a cooling medium, eliminating the need for conventional chillers.
The company claims this configuration achieves a power usage effectiveness of less than 1.15, an improvement over both China’s current efficiency benchmark and many terrestrial hyperscale facilities.
Proponents of the project argue that the subsea approach reduces energy demand for cooling while allowing near-total reliance on renewable sources.
The developers estimate that around 95% of the facility’s electricity will come from offshore wind, eliminating the need for grid power or fresh water.
If the numbers hold up, the site could mark real progress towards sustainable low-impact computing.
However, there are clear limitations. Microsoft’s past experience shows that there are practical drawbacks when maintaining, updating, and replacing components.
Since each capsule is pressurized, sealed, and coated to resist corrosion, once submerged, access becomes expensive and time-consuming.
Lin-gang promoters maintain that marine and thermal impacts remain within acceptable limits, but independent verification is still pending.
As with Microsoft’s previous venture, the question is not whether the system can work, but whether it can do so sustainably and profitably.
If the results align with initial projections, China’s approach could influence how global companies deploy AI tools and manage data-intensive workloads at scale.
Through Tom Hardware
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