Beijing (Web Desk) China has made the world’s first commercial underwater data center operational, located on the seabed and largely powered by clean energy generated from wind.
According to the British newspaper The Guardian, the project near Shanghai is situated close to a high-tech free trade zone, where several major industrial facilities are also located. The data center has been installed about 10 meters below sea level.
The project was completed through a collaboration between a technology company and a state-owned construction enterprise. It officially began operations in May and has a total capacity of 24 megawatts.
Chinese authorities said the project cost around $225 million and was completed in October last year. Due to its underwater location, the system consumes about 22 percent less electricity compared to conventional land-based data centers, with most of its energy supplied by nearby offshore wind power projects.
Typically, data centers face major challenges in cooling servers, as they generate significant heat during continuous operation and require large amounts of water for cooling.
Chinese officials said that being underwater allows seawater to act as a natural cooling system, reducing water usage by more than 90 percent compared to traditional land-based data centers.