South Korea Advances Ambitious Undersea Data Center Project with Major Government Grant
April 10, 2026
The South Korean city of Ulsan, in collaboration with the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST), has secured a significant government grant to develop a pioneering carbon-zero underwater data center. This project represents a strategic push to address the growing energy and cooling demands of the digital economy by leveraging marine environments, positioning South Korea at the forefront of an emerging and experimental segment of the data center industry.
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has selected Ulsan as the final site for its "Carbon-Zero Underwater Data Center Standard Model Development Project," awarding a 40 billion won ($29 million) grant to be disbursed over five years. The initiative aims to construct a facility off the Ulsan coast that will utilize seawater as its primary cooling mechanism. The design will integrate pressure vessel technology with ultra-high-efficiency hybrid cooling systems. Furthermore, the architecture and power equipment will be developed in modular, standardized configurations to enhance cost-effectiveness and scalability for future deployments.
To support the ambitious undertaking, Ulsan has formed a consortium of 12 partners from industry, academia, and research, including KIOST, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), POSCO, GS Engineering & Construction, and SK Telecom. Site analysis and basic design are slated to begin this year, with performance testing and an initial demonstration targeted for completion by 2030. Large-scale commercial construction of the complex, which earlier reports indicated could eventually house up to 100,000 servers on the seabed, is planned to commence from 2031.
"Through this joint public-private-academic-research project combining ocean science technology and information and communications technology, we will overcome the limitations of onshore data centers," stated an Ulsan city official. "We will expand our maritime digital territory with the underwater data center as a base and elevate Ulsan into a sustainable AI capital."
The Ulsan project is part of a renewed global interest in subsea data centers, which promise natural cooling and potential synergy with offshore renewable energy. However, the track record for such ventures is mixed. While companies like China's HiCloud have expanded a commercial facility in Hainan, and new proposals like DeepGreen Western Passage's tidal-powered center in Maine have emerged, other projects have faced challenges. Microsoft's high-profile Project Natick, deployed off Scotland in 2018, was shut down in 2024, and startup NetworkOcean encountered permitting difficulties in San Francisco Bay. The Ulsan initiative, backed by substantial state funding and a major consortium, will be a critical test for the commercial and technical viability of large-scale underwater data center operations.
Source: datacenterdynamics
