Data Centers Set to Float at Sea: Hanwha Ocean Unveils 60-MW Floating Data Center

[Financial News] Data centers are rapidly proliferating in the age of AI (artificial intelligence), but securing sites and power, cooling efficiency, and local opposition have emerged as obstacles. As a fundamental solution, the idea of floating data centers at sea is gaining traction. Hanwha Ocean is set to unveil the first physical model.
Hanwha Ocean announced on the 13th that it will unveil the first physical model of a 60-MW-class Floating Data Center (FDC) at Gastech, the world’s largest gas exhibition. During Gastech 2026, held in Bangkok from the 14th to the 17th, Hanwha Ocean will obtain technology certification for the FDC and promote the technology.
An offshore data center can generate its own power and use seawater for cooling, making it far more efficient than land-based facilities. As a technology that could accelerate the stable expansion of the AI era, it drew considerable attention at Gastech.
The FDC proposed by Hanwha Ocean features a modular design. Its power-generation method, power-supply structure, and server types and capacities can be configured flexibly according to local conditions and client requirements. Hanwha Ocean also outlined plans to strengthen its competitiveness by combining the FDC with capabilities in designing and building large floating structures, power generation and energy, operations and maintenance (O&M), and security.
Hanwha Ocean’s FDC conceptual design received Approval in Principle (AiP) from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS).
The company will also showcase a model of a 174,000-cubic-meter zero-carbon LNG (liquefied natural gas) carrier. It is being developed as an ammonia gas-turbine-based zero-carbon electric-propulsion vessel, with the goal of achieving fully zero-carbon operation without using pilot oil even during ignition.
Son Young-chang, head of Hanwha Ocean’s Product Strategy and Technology Institute, said, "This is a meaningful stage for introducing the Floating Data Center to the global market for the first time. By bringing together our shipbuilding and offshore technology with Hanwha Group’s energy and data capabilities, we will present new solutions and lead the global FDC market."
[email protected] Kim Yun-ho Reporter