China tests underwater data centres to reduce AI carbon footprint

Power-hungry data centres run hot, so one Chinese company is planning to submerge a pod of servers in the sea off Shanghai with hopes of solving computing’s energy woes.

On a wharf near the city, workers were finishing off the large yellow capsule – a foray into alternative tech infrastructure that faces questions over its ecological impact and commercial viability.

The world’s websites and apps rely on physical data centres to store information, with the growing use of artificial intelligence contributing to skyrocketing demand for the facilities.

“Underwater operations have inherent advantages,” said Yang Ye of maritime equipment firm Highlander, which is developing the Shanghai pod with state-owned construction companies.

Undersea servers are kept at a low temperature by ocean currents, rather than the energy-intensive air cooling or water evaporation required by centres on land.

The technology was trialled by Microsoft off the coast of Scotland in 2018, but the Chinese project, to be sunk in mid-October, is one of the world’s first commercial services of its kind.