South Korea Plans Undersea Data Center Pilot to Support AI Infrastructure
South Korea's Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has selected Ulsan for a 51.1 billion won pilot project to build an undersea data center. Led by the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, the project aims to deploy server containers at a depth of 20 meters, eventually scaling up to 100,000 servers. This initiative addresses South Korea's severe land scarcity and rising construction costs while utilizing seawater for natural cooling of heat-intensive AI hardware. It supports the nation's strategic goal of becoming one of the world's top three AI powerhouses. The undersea containers must withstand three times standard atmospheric pressure, resist saltwater corrosion, and prevent condensation to ensure electronic equipment can operate continuously for five to seven years. The project also involves SK Telecom, Lotte E&C, and POSCO, and will develop remote monitoring robots.
## BACKGROUND
Undersea data centers leverage deep water temperatures for energy-efficient cooling and are often located near coastal cities to reduce latency. Microsoft pioneered this concept with Project Natick starting in 2015, and China has already deployed commercial undersea data centers off the coast of Hainan Province.