China sinks 2k servers beneath the ocean as AI power demands push ... (www.techradar.com)

China has launched a groundbreaking underwater data center near Shanghai, submerging nearly 2,000 AI servers to address the significant cooling demands posed by artificial intelligence applications. This innovative facility utilizes seawater for passive cooling, eliminating the need for traditional industrial chillers. Operating at a depth of around 35 meters, the data center is integrated with offshore wind farms, which supply a substantial portion of its 24-megawatt power, achieving a notable Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) rating below 1.15—more efficient than typical land-based counterparts. This project is significant for the AI/ML community as it represents a potential solution to the growing energy crises linked to expanding AI infrastructure, which increasingly burdens national power grids. The underwater environment not only offers stable temperatures for cooling but also proposes a model for integrating renewable energy with digital services. While previous underwater experiments faced challenges, this commercial-scale operation hints at the viability of submerged data centers, sparking interest in alternative infrastructures for meeting future computing demands sustainably. However, concerns about long-term maintenance and operational reliability still loom, as managing hardware malfunctions underwater is considerably more complex than traditional setups.