Signal One underwater data centre programme was shut down while another scaled commercially

Summary

Deloitte cites underwater data centres as one of the experiments in sustainable computing prompted by AI's environmental footprint. Microsoft's Project Natick showed that underwater data centre containers could deliver practical, reliable computing while using the ocean as a heat sink. Microsoft nonetheless ended the research programme once the concept phase was complete. By contrast, the Chinese maritime equipment company Highlander has deployed commercial underwater data centre modules. It is expanding the operation with formal government backing. The report groups these cases with nuclear power, renewable-powered campuses and orbital concepts as signs of broader trends in sustainable computing infrastructure.