China has officially launched the world’s first offshore wind-powered underwater data centre near Shanghai, marking a major step in sustainable data infrastructure.

Located about 10 kilometres off the coast of Shanghai’s Lingang Special Area and 35 metres below the sea surface, the facility is designed to support artificial intelligence (AI) and big data processing while reducing energy consumption.

Built through a partnership between the Chinese government and HighCloud Technology at a cost of USD 226 million, the data centre has a capacity of 24 megawatts and houses nearly 2,000 servers. Around 95 per cent of its electricity is supplied by a nearby offshore wind farm.

Engineers involved in the project said the centre uses seawater for cooling instead of conventional air-conditioning systems. This reduces electricity consumption by 22.8 per cent and eliminates the need for large volumes of fresh water. Reports also indicate that the facility requires 90 per cent less land than traditional data centres.

Experts noted that while similar underwater data centre concepts had previously been tested by Microsoft, China is the first country to successfully deploy the technology on a commercial scale.

The project comes as demand for AI and cloud computing continues to drive the construction of large data centres worldwide. However, some scientists have raised concerns that heat released into the sea could affect marine ecosystems.

Chinese media reported that operations at the Shanghai facility have already begun, while plans are underway for a larger underwater data centre project with a capacity of 500 megawatts.