China launches offshore wind-powered underwater AI data centre

• China opens an underwater AI data centre near Shanghai.
• The facility uses offshore wind and seawater cooling.

China has started commercial operations at an offshore wind-powered underwater AI data centre near Shanghai’s Lingang Special Area.

The facility houses nearly 2,000 servers inside pressure-resistant subsea modules located close to offshore wind turbines. The modules sit about 35 metres below the ocean surface.

The facility supports AI computing, cloud services, and domestic large language model development. It is also designed for 5G infrastructurebig data processing, and large-scale data annotation.

The project was developed through a partnership involving the Lingang Special Area Administrative Committee, Shanghai Lingang Special Area Investment Holding Group, and HiCloud Technology. HiCloud Technology acted as the primary private engineering contractor for the subsea data centre project. Operational agreements were also signed with China Telecom, Shenergy Group, and CCCC Third Harbor Engineering.

Work on the facility began after agreements were finalised in June 2025. Construction was completed in October 2025. Initial trials began in February 2026 before the facility entered full commercial operation in May.

The data centre is located between the first and second phases of Lingang’s offshore wind farm. The project reportedly cost about ¥1.6 billion, or around US$226 million.

The facility was built in stages. It began as a 2.3MW demonstration project before expanding into a 24MW commercial operation.

The subsea modules contain GPU clusters and other computing equipment for AI and data-intensive workloads. China Telecom and local computing company LinkWise have deployed systems inside the facility.

Wind power and seawater cooling

Unlike conventional data centres, the Lingang facility does not rely on large land-based buildings for server operations. Its sealed capsules are placed below the ocean surface, near the wind power infrastructure that supplies electricity to the site.

Developers said the underwater design reduces land requirements by placing sealed server modules below the ocean surface.

Dense GPU racks draw large amounts of power and convert much of it into heat, making cooling a central part of the facility’s design.

Cooling and efficiency

Conventional data centres typically use air-conditioning systems, chillers, or cooling towers to manage heat from servers. These systems require electricity and, in some configurations, water.

The Lingang facility uses seawater as part of a passive cooling system. Developers said stable ocean temperatures around the sealed modules help reduce reliance on mechanical cooling.

According to HiCloud Technology, heat from the servers changes refrigerant inside copper pipes from liquid to gas.

The gas rises to an upper cooling layer, where heat is transferred to the surrounding seawater through a heat exchanger. After cooling, the refrigerant turns back into liquid and returns to the server modules through gravity.

Developers said this process reduces the need for conventional powered cooling systems. Chinese media reports said the facility achieved a Power Usage Effectiveness rating below 1.15.

PUE measures how much electricity is used for computing compared with cooling and other supporting systems.

Chinese media reports compared the facility’s rating with traditional enterprise data centres, which often operate closer to 1.5. Developers said the Lingang facility reduces electricity use by 22.8% and removes the need for freshwater. They also said it cuts land requirements by more than 90%.

The project also draws most of its electricity from renewable sources. Reports said more than 95% of its power comes from renewable energy. The facility is connected to offshore wind infrastructure next to Lingang’s offshore wind farms.

Operational challenges

The design requires protection against saltwater corrosion, pressure, water intrusion, and subsea cable faults.

Equipment replacement requires underwater access procedures rather than standard data hall servicing. Operators rely on modular systems, remote monitoring, and redundancy to reduce the need for physical repairs.

Power and fibre-optic connections also require subsea cabling. Subsea cable repairs typically require specialised vessels and equipment.

Earlier subsea tests

The Shanghai project has been compared with Microsoft’s Project Natick, which tested underwater data centre modules off California in 2015 and near Scotland’s Orkney Islands in 2018.

Microsoft’s trials found that sealed underwater environments could reduce hardware failure rates by limiting exposure to oxygen and human interference. The company later discontinued the programme commercially and did not move it into large-scale deployment.

Unlike Microsoft’s trials, the Lingang project has entered commercial operation and is connected to offshore renewable energy infrastructure.

It is not the first underwater data centre overall. An earlier commercial underwater data centre project was launched near Hainan, China. The Shanghai facility is described as the first offshore wind-powered underwater AI data centre.

Want to experience the full spectrum of enterprise technology innovation? Join TechEx in Amsterdam, California, and London. Covering AI, Big Data, Cyber Security, IoT, Digital Transformation, Intelligent Automation, Edge Computing, and Data Centres, TechEx brings together global leaders to share real-world use cases and in-depth insights. Click here for more information.