The Ocean as a Location for AI Data Centers

The AI boom is fueling the global demand for computing power. At the same time, server farms are enormous consumers of electricity and resources. Developers are increasingly struggling to procure land, energy, and water for the construction and operation of large data centers.

The Californian start-up Aikido Technologies, an offshore infrastructure provider, believes that moving to the sea could solve some challenges. The company this week unveiled a novel floating offshore wind platform that combines computing power for AI applications with floating wind energy generation and integrated battery storage.

According to Aikido, the facility is intended to house 10 to 12 megawatts (MW) of AI computing power, as well as a 15 to 18 MW wind turbine and integrated battery storage. "The technology, designed for data centers with an IT load from 30 MW to over 1 GW, enables the construction of a self-sufficient, gigawatt-scale AI infrastructure directly at the source of renewable energy, thus meeting the rapid growth in demand for high-density AI infrastructure," the company stated in a press release.

Prototype off the coast of Norway

According to the journal IEEE Spectrum, published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Aikido plans to test a 100-kilowatt prototype off the coast of Norway by the end of the year. The data center will reportedly be housed in the underwater tanks of a floating offshore wind turbine. The first commercial project is planned for 2028 off the coast of Great Britain. A location has already been identified, and detailed technical and commercial discussions are underway, Aikido announced.

The Californian company considers the sea a good location for AI data centers. Offshore, energy, cooling, and space are abundant, according to Aikido. In addition to wind power for energy generation, seawater is used to cool the facility. Worldwide, areas designated for floating wind turbines could immediately be used for data centers. "Before we go to land, we should go to the offshore world," said Sam Kanner, CEO of Aikido Technologies. "The pioneers of the oil and gas industry utilized deep-sea resources over 40 years ago and achieved enormous benefits. Aikido is ideally positioned to integrate proven offshore components with common data center construction techniques to build gigawatt-scale AI factories faster, cleaner, more affordably, and more efficiently than traditional methods."

Advantages and Disadvantages

While Aikido's offshore approach offers some obvious advantages, it also has disadvantages, the tech portal Gizmodo points out. “One challenge is the current state of the floating offshore wind sector, which is grappling with significant development delays, rising costs, and higher interest rates due to expiring government subsidies." Furthermore, there are technical challenges. Daniel King, a research fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation, mentioned to IEEE Spectrum the salinity of the sea and pollution from marine debris, which can damage the infrastructure. There could also be additional regulatory hurdles to protect marine life from heat radiation.

Aikido is not the first company to propose building data centers offshore in seawater. China commissioned a wind-powered underwater data center last year. It is considered the world's first commercially operated facility. Additionally, according to Gizmodo, Germany's WestfalenWind Group has reached the operational development phase with its windCORES project. This involves using onshore turbines with data centers integrated into the towers.

(akn)