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GlobalData argues that ocean-based and off-planet data centers could help relieve the growing energy demand driven by AI-scale compute
In sum – what to know:
Relief for AI-scale energy demand – Underwater and floating data centers provide natural cooling, access to renewables, and reduced land requirements, easing pressure on terrestrial infrastructure.
China advances commercial underwater deployments – A new 24 MW subsea data center near Shanghai targets PUE below 1.15 and sources nearly all power from offshore wind.
Space emerges as a long-term frontier – Extreme cold and limitless solar energy make orbital data centers increasingly feasible as launch costs fall and in-orbit networking improves.
The surge in demand for artificial intelligence (AI), cloud services, and data-intensive digital applications is straining traditional land-based data centers and accelerating the search for new deployment environments, according to a recent report by GlobalData.
The report notes that oceans and even space are emerging as viable alternatives, offering abundant cooling, renewable energy access, and greater deployment flexibility for increasingly complex AI workloads.
In the report, dubbed “Deep dive into data centers’ next frontier: Oceans and space”, GlobalData argues that ocean-based and space data centers could help relieve the increasing energy demand driven by AI-scale compute.
“Floating and underwater data centers provide scalable, efficient solutions by using seawater for cooling and by accessing renewable energy near coastlines,” said Martina Raveni, strategic intelligence analyst at GlobalData. “These modular facilities reduce reliance on land and potable water, improve latency for coastal populations, and mitigate some of the climate risks posed by terrestrial data centers.”
Pilot deployments in North America, Europe, and Asia have already shown that ocean-based systems can operate at megawatt scale with high-density compute and multi-year operational lifetimes.
China took a major step forward in June 2025 with the launch of its first commercial-scale underwater data center (UDC) near Shanghai. Powered primarily by offshore wind, the project aims to scale to 24 MW across two phases with a power usage effectiveness (PUE) target below 1.15. The UDC will rely on modular subsea units cooled by seawater, sourcing an estimated 97% of its power from offshore wind farms.
Raveni noted that space could represent the next evolutionary leap: “Space-based data centers push these innovations further, using the extreme cold of space and unlimited solar energy to power high-performance computing. Lower launch costs and advancements in reusable rockets, in-orbit networking, and the selection of optimal orbits make space data centers increasingly feasible.”
Although ocean deployments remain limited today, GlobalData expects the segment to expand steadily as technology matures and AI compute needs grow. Space-based concepts, meanwhile, are still largely experimental but attracting accelerating interest from industry and government stakeholders.
In an interview with RCR Wireless News, the analyst described the main technical or regulatory barriers that still prevent underwater and space-based data centers from moving beyond pilot stage.
“Technically, ocean-based data centers have to deal with marine corrosion and biofouling of equipment, as well as the need for specialized maintenance protocols. Minor hardware failures may require retrieving the entire module, resulting in significant operational downtime. The cost of designing, building, and deploying data centers in the ocean can be high and requires a significant initial investment. Seawater cooling is efficient, but fluctuations in water temperature might be an additional challenge,” she said.
“Space‐based centers, meanwhile, have to deal with space radiation and geomagnetic storms that damage electronic and server components, as well as extreme temperature fluctuations that can cause stress on materials. Space debris is also a significant concern due to the risk of collisions that could damage or destroy spacecrafts. In addition, the initial costs of launching data centers into space are prohibitively high. Maintaining these facilities could be costly as well: physical repairs in space are difficult or even impossible at times, requiring self- healing capabilities and robust infrastructure solutions,” she added.
On the regulatory front, the rules around both types of next-frontier data centers are unclear, said Raveni. “Underwater projects face complex regulatory frameworks, such as maritime property rights to obtain permits from various governmental and environmental agencies. Also, data centers in the ocean may have ecological impacts on local marine ecosystems, which is another area that needs regulation. Space jurisdiction is a complex matter. There might be regulatory and legal issues that could slow development, such as space traffic management, accident liability, and compliance with international space agreements,” she said.
