China has officially launched the world’s first underwater commercial data center, marking a significant technological and environmental milestone in global data infrastructure. The facility, located in Lingshui County, Hainan Province, has been developed to enhance energy efficiency and attract international investment in digital technology.
The project, built by Shenzhen HiCloud Data Center Technology Co., involves a massive 1,300-ton underwater data cabin placed 35 meters below sea level. Inside, high-performance servers are housed in sealed pressure-resistant containers, with each cabin accommodating 24 servers. In total, the data center can host between 400 to 500 servers, depending on configuration.
The most remarkable aspect of this innovation lies in its natural cooling system — the servers are cooled using seawater, dramatically reducing the energy required for traditional air-conditioning systems. According to the company, this design can reduce power consumption for cooling by up to 90%, a major step toward carbon neutrality in the data industry.
The Hainan project is part of a larger five-year plan to deploy 100 underwater data cabins, which would form an extensive underwater data cluster. This initiative aligns with China’s strategy to improve digital sustainability, reduce operational costs, and support the exponential growth of cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and web services.
Traditional land-based data centers consume vast amounts of electricity for both processing and cooling, often generating significant heat that must be continuously managed. By contrast, underwater centers use the surrounding ocean environment as a natural heat sink, minimizing both cost and environmental impact.
Analysts note that the successful operation of this project could transform the global data center industry, offering a scalable solution to one of the sector’s biggest challenges — energy efficiency. If replicated widely, underwater data centers could dramatically cut carbon emissions associated with the expanding demand for digital storage and AI computation.
Experts also emphasize that the underwater model provides additional benefits such as greater physical security, minimal land usage, and stable operating temperatures year-round. However, long-term maintenance, hardware replacement logistics, and marine ecosystem impact remain areas of active research.
With this achievement, China positions itself at the forefront of next-generation data infrastructure, combining technological innovation with environmental responsibility — a move that could reshape the future of global data management and sustainable computing.
