Jakarta, INTI - China officially operates the world's first underwater data center (UDC) powered with wind, located in the Lin-gang Special Zone, Shanghai. This project is a collaboration between the private company HiCloud Technology and the state-owned company China Communications Construction, with an investment of 1.6 billion yuan.
The facility, with a capacity of 24 megawatts, is submerged at a depth of 10 meters in the China Pilot Free Trade Zone in Shanghai. This location allows for the use of seawater as a natural cooling system, reducing the proportion of energy used for infrastructure cooling to less than 10 percent.
This innovation addresses the main challenge of energy consumption in conventional data centers, where air conditioning systems typically consume 40 to 50 percent of the total electricity required. The UDC's thermal efficiency is reflected in its power-usage effectiveness (PUE), which is designed to be no more than 1.15 in the first phase, a figure considered state-of-the-art in the industry.
Powered with Offshore Wind Technology
The Shanghai complex marks a milestone as the first UDC to operate using offshore wind power. Previously, HiCloud had opened the world's first commercial undersea data center in 2023 on Hainan, an island in southern China.
However, the UDC in Shanghai is the first to integrate renewable energy from offshore winds. Construction of the UDC was completed in mid-October last year. This move is a key part of China's efforts to optimize its energy supply through renewable sources while maintaining its leadership in computing capacity related to AI development.
Conclusion
China officially operates an underwater data center (UDC) in Shanghai. The UDC is a collaboration between HiCloud Technology and China Communications Construction, with a capacity of 24 MW. Submerged at a depth of 10 meters, the UDC utilizes seawater as a natural coolant, reducing cooling energy requirements to less than 10 percent. The project is also the first underwater data center integrated with offshore wind power, with more than 95 percent of its electricity needs coming from green energy.
Read more: Surging Demand Fills Data Center Capacity Ahead of Operations, Telkom Expands NeutraDC Facility in Batam