China Activates World’s First Commercial Underwater Data Centre
in Hainan to Boost Blue Economy and Sustainability
The project could prove a boon for
sustainability, as underwater data centres consume less energy than land-based
facilities
China
has launched the world’s
first commercial underwater data centre in Lingshui, Hainan, marking a
milestone in sustainable technology and digital infrastructure. The project,
developed by Shenzhen HiCloud Data Centre Technology, aims to cut
energy use and operational costs by leveraging seawater for natural cooling.
Each
1,300-tonne underwater
data cabin, positioned 35
metres below sea level, houses 24 server racks capable of hosting up to 500 servers. The
facility’s first phase is complete, with Hainan’s 14th Five-Year Plan
envisioning a full network of 100
such data cabins as part of an integrated blue-economy
technology hub.
Hainan,
China’s largest pilot free-trade zone, is using the project to attract foreign investment and
strengthen its role in the digital
and marine economy. In 2024, Beijing permitted full foreign ownership of data centres
and value-added telecom services in Hainan, Beijing, Shanghai,
and Shenzhen—an effort to draw multinational tech firms amid growing global
demand for AI and cloud
computing infrastructure.
Analysts
say the initiative signals China’s drive to combine technological innovation with
sustainability goals, positioning itself ahead of rivals like Microsoft, whose
experimental “Project Natick” underwater data centre in Scotland was
discontinued in 2024.
The
world’s first commercial underwater data centre is now operational in China’s
Hainan, as the island province pushes to attract foreign investment by
expanding the blue economy in the country’s largest pilot free-trade zone.
The
servers manage digital services from restaurant recommendations to travel
hacks, and will be installed in a 1,300-tonne underwater data cabin –
equivalent to the weight of 1,000 passenger cars – after the first phase of
construction was completed in Lingshui county this
year.
“We
put the entire data cabin in the deep sea because seawater can help cool down
the temperature,” Pu Ding, project manager at Shenzhen HiCloud
Data Centre Technology, told the Chinese media outlet Financial News.
“Compared
to land-based data centres, data centres under the sea can reduce energy
consumption needed for cooling, helping to lower operational costs.”
Each
cabin, located 35 metres (114.8 feet) underwater, contains 24 server racks
capable of hosting 400 to 500 servers, according to Financial News.
Under
Hainan’s fourteenth five-year plan, the province proposed building a subsea
data centre featuring 100 data cabins. The project is central to an integrated
industrial estate focused on developing new technologies for the blue economy.
Amid
intensifying technological competition with the United States, China launched a
pilot programme in 2024 allowing full foreign ownership of data centres and
value-added telecoms services in Hainan and three other hubs: Beijing, Shanghai
and Shenzhen.
“This
policy update is a response to mounting global demand for data centre services
fuelled by advances in generative AI and cloud computing,” said Giulia
Interesse, an editor at China Briefing issued by consulting firm Dezan Shira
and Associates.
“By
opening its borders to full foreign ownership, China is aiming to attract
multinational tech giants eager to tap into its market potential,” she added.
By
contrast, Microsoft began working on Project Natick, an underwater data centre,
in 2014. But in 2024, the American tech giant confirmed that it was no longer
active after the company sank the data centre, comprising 855 servers, off the
coast of Scotland in 2018, where it had been trialled for two years.