Microsoft Officially Confirms Indefinite Suspension of Underwater Data Center Project Without Disclosing Specific Reasons

In 2015, Microsoft announced its underwater data center project, aimed at deploying server-filled, sealed containers in shallow seas to utilize the cold seawater for cooling while powering the servers with shore-based wind turbines and the data center's own tidal energy generators.

For instance, in the spring of 2018, Microsoft installed the Northern Isles data center in the waters off the coast of Scotland, at a depth of 35 meters. This data center housed 864 servers, providing a storage capacity of up to 27.6PB=28,262TB=28,940,697GB.

(The image above shows the data center retrieved from the Scottish waters in 2020, after two years of operation, virtually problem-free except for being covered in various marine life.)

According to Microsoft's own testing, the failure rate of servers in these underwater data centers is only one-eighth of those on land, and they can be manufactured and deployed in as little as 90 days, with a lifespan of up to 3 years without human intervention.

Despite these advantages, Microsoft has quietly shelved the project, confirming the company will not build underwater data centers anywhere in the world, effectively putting the project on indefinite hold.

Noelle Walsh, head of Microsoft's Cloud Operations + Innovation (CO+I) department, stated:

"We will not build underwater data centers anywhere in the world. Our team has researched and succeeded in this endeavor. Throughout the process, we've learned a great deal about operations below sea level and the impacts of server vibrations, knowledge we plan to apply to other cases."

A similar statement was made by a Microsoft spokesperson:

"While we currently have no plans to establish data centers underwater, we will continue to use the project as a research platform to explore, test, and validate new concepts related to data center reliability and sustainability, such as liquid immersion cooling."

Neither department heads nor Microsoft spokespeople have disclosed why the underwater data center project was shelved. Given the smooth operation of these data centers, it was expected that the testing scope would be expanded. The suspension suggests that Microsoft may have encountered undisclosed issues, whether related to economic benefits, costs, or server maintenance, prompting the decision to shelve the data center.