China Continues Future Project Halted by the United States

China has established an underwater data centre by placing 2,000 servers on the seabed in the Lingang Special Area. This project follows a concept previously explored by Microsoft, which was ultimately cancelled several years ago.

The data centre facility has a capacity of 24 MW, with its location situated 10 km below the sea surface. Uniquely, China utilises the surrounding seawater as a cooling mechanism for the servers and the towers, as reported by the Times of India.

The project represents an investment of 1.6 billion yuan (approximately Rp 4.2 trillion) and is being executed in collaboration with HiCloud Technology and the state-owned enterprise China Communications Construction.

China has adopted a project design that was previously utilised by Microsoft in 2018. During that initiative, the company deployed 855 servers with 27.6 petabytes of capacity at a depth of 117 feet in the North Sea.

To protect the hardware, Microsoft pumped air out of the servers during deployment and replaced it with dry nitrogen to prevent oxidation and moisture absorption. However, the company eventually abandoned the idea after reportedly losing six of the 855 submerged servers.

Notably, both projects utilise seawater as a substitute for traditional cooling systems. This approach can significantly reduce data centre operational costs, as between a quarter and a half of the electricity required for land-based facilities is typically used to circulate cold water through the servers.