The Shanghai project follows earlier experimental efforts such as Microsoft’s Project Natick , which tested submerged data center capsules off the coasts of Scotland and California. Microsoft ultimately discontinued the program commercially, but the trials demonstrated that underwater deployments could achieve lower hardware failure rates.
Offshore-powered, ocean-cooled data center projects are continuing to emerge worldwide as AI infrastructure power and cooling demands continue to soar. Last month, we reported on a Peter Thiel-backed startup, Panthalassa, which is developing wave-powered floating data centers designed to operate far offshore using ocean water for passive cooling while drawing electricity from onboard renewable energy systems.
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Etiido Uko is a news contributor for Tom's Hardware covering the latest updates in big tech and the PC industry. He is a mechanical engineer and senior technical writer with over nine years of experience in documentation and reporting. He is deeply passionate about all things engineering and technology, and is an expert in gadgets, manufacturing, robotics, automotive, and aerospace. ","collapsible":{"enabled":true,"maxHeight":250,"readMoreText":"Read more","readLessText":"Read less"}}), "https://slice.vanilla.futurecdn.net/13-4-23/js/authorBio.js"); } else { console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); } Etiido Uko Social Links Navigation News Contributor Etiido Uko is a news contributor for Tom's Hardware covering the latest updates in big tech and the PC industry. He is a mechanical engineer and senior technical writer with over nine years of experience in documentation and reporting. He is deeply passionate about all things engineering and technology, and is an expert in gadgets, manufacturing, robotics, automotive, and aerospace.
PEnns China is a leader in many sectors , it turns out! Meanwhile, the good ole USA's leaders are pushing coal and oil and vilifying wind power because "it hurts birds" and "wait for it……. whales!! Reply
gg83 PEnns said: China is a leader in many sectors , it turns out! Meanwhile, the good ole USA's leaders are pushing coal and oil and vilifying wind power because "it hurts birds" and "wait for it……. whales!! Yes. China is a leader at killing nature. As the article clearly states Microsoft did it already and determined it isn't a good option. Reply
SteJBorchard Ah a ocean warming center, need more of that. Though I suppose it has interesting implication for hardware, technology and engineering research/testing for other planets/environments. Reply
Bumstead gg83 said: Yes. China is a leader at killing nature. As the article clearly states Microsoft did it already and determined it isn't a good option. It should be interesting to see what kind of scum grows in abundance in-and-around this thing… unless of course it includes a feature of poisoning the water. Maybe they'll use UV or ozone. I also wonder what the sonic impact will be. Unlike data centers in space, undersea makes at least some sense, though. Reply
PEnns gg83 said: Yes. China is a leader at killing nature. As the article clearly states Microsoft did it already and determined it isn't a good option. Yeah, unlike oil and coal production, from Alaska to the Gulf, nothing spilled, exploded or killed creatures of all kinds at all And don't forget the clean air and water that those beloved natural resources don't pollute at all!! Amazing. Reply
thestryker gg83 said: Microsoft did it already and determined it isn't a good option. No they didn't. They tested submersion for cooling not bolting it onto power generation which changes everything. It's a whole other situation when power infrastructure is in the same place as that needs easy maintenance access which means the servers will benefit from this. Reply
nookoool gg83 said: Yes. China is a leader at killing nature. As the article clearly states Microsoft did it already and determined it isn't a good option. microsoft said something like 512k ram was all that ya needed as well Reply
blppt PEnns said: Meanwhile, the good ole USA's leaders are pushing coal and oil and vilifying wind power because "it hurts birds" and "wait for it……. whales!! To this day, I'm not entirely sure whether he truly believes that wind power is a net negative, or its just the really stupid narrative he settled on. We know he hates the windmills "ruining the view" of his resorts. Reply
JamesJones44 nookoool said: microsoft said something like 512k ram was all that ya needed as well I'm an M$/Bill Gates hater, but I can't believe after all these years, this debunked quote somehow lives on. Reply
Trake_17 Don't worry, the oceans weren't warming up fast enough. China has it covered Reply
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Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/china-says-worlds-first-offshore-wind-powered-underwater-data-center-has-entered-full-operation-houses-2-000-servers-24-megawatt-subsea-ai-facility-uses-ocean-water-for-passive-cooling-and-offshore-wind-for-power#main
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