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Shanghai Underwater Datacentre Goes Live, Cuts Power 20%

6/9/2026

Summary

Story summary

The Shanghai Lingang underwater datacentre began operations Shanghai, 10 m deep, with 24 MW capacity and 1.6 bn yuan (£177 m) investment.
It uses wind and seawater cooling to cut power use by over one-fifth.
The UN Institute warned datacentre water demand could hit 9.3 tn litres by 2030—enough for all 1.3 billion Africans—while marine biologist Prof Rick Stafford said temperature rises should be manageable.
China pledged to markedly boost clean-energy supplies for AI infrastructure by 2030.

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Story summary

The Shanghai Lingang underwater datacentre began operations Shanghai, 10 m deep, with 24 MW capacity and 1.6 bn yuan (£177 m) investment.
It uses wind and seawater cooling to cut power use by over one-fifth.
The UN Institute warned datacentre water demand could hit 9.3 tn litres by 2030—enough for all 1.3 billion Africans—while marine biologist Prof Rick Stafford said temperature rises should be manageable.
China pledged to markedly boost clean-energy supplies for AI infrastructure by 2030.