China has officially put into operation the world’s first underwater data center, located about 10 kilometers off the coast of the Lingang Special Zone in Shanghai. The project, carried out by HiCloud Technology and China Communications Construction, cost $226 million and is located about 9 meters deep. However, this is a demonstration experiment rather than a major expansion of computing power: the maximum capacity of the plant is only 24 MW, which is out of comparison with the gigawatt terrestrial data centers for AI.

According to the Chinese government, the underwater complex consumes 20% less electricity thanks to natural cooling by ocean water and power from a marine wind farm. This is especially true given the UN’s projections: by 2030, data-center water consumption could reach 9.3 trillion liters, comparable to the needs of sub-Saharan Africa as a whole.

However, the environmental safety of the project remains in question. A similar initiative off the coast of California has faced protests from scientists warning about the risks of toxic algal blooms and marine mortality from heat pollution. The Chinese project has been subject to more stringent regulatory scrutiny, but studies still point to the risks of sea waves, heat, and lower oxygen levels. While developers continue to search for any available space - from the ocean floor to orbit - to host future servers.