Energy efficiency is a key challenge and China is making progress in this area with the construction of a new underwater data centre. This innovative project will have the capacity of 6 million PCs.

The ocean floor is where the new Chinese data center will be located
There is no doubt that Chinese technology is always at the forefront. Once again, with its new construction, it confirms that it remains a pioneer in this field. In recent decades, China’s public image has changed dramatically. Before, it was synonymous with cheap manufacturing. Today, it is a world power that leads in several technological sectors. Even specialists in the field believe that the Asian power will soon lead the development of Artificial Intelligence.
Recently, major companies such as Meta are moving their data centres to places with lower temperatures, such as Sweden. China is betting on the seabed to install its new and powerful data centre. The great advantage is that natural cooling from the sea will significantly reduce energy consumption compared to traditional methods.
Infrastructure Features
It has been in operation since March 2023 without any problems. It is located in Lingshui Li Autonomous County, Hainan Province.
The first commercial subsea data center connects its modules to a shore station via maritime cables. This location houses the power distribution equipment. The networks and monitoring systems are also located there.

The staff monitors the modules with an underwater monitoring system. At the heart of the system are the data modules, which are cylinders weighing 1,300 tons each, equivalent to the weight of 1,000 cars. They have a lifespan of 25 years.
The facility will feature 100 pods, each containing multiple computing units. Located on the seabed, the data center uses seawater to naturally cool the modules. This reduces energy, water, and land space consumption. It also offers higher computing power density, better security, and lower network latency. In turn, by operating without dust or oxygen, its durability will also be increased.
The Chinese company claims that its underwater data center is operational commercially. It is not an experiment, but, despite still being under construction, it is already serving its customers. The eastern power is a pioneer in the use of underwater spaces for efficient and ecological data centers.
These centres significantly reduce the environmental impact compared to similar land-based centres. If this project is confirmed as successful in the long term, it could mark the beginning of a series of underwater data centres, optimising energy and marine natural resources.