Samsung wants to put AI data centers on the sea

Samsung Heavy Industries has developed a 50 MW-class Floating Data Center (FDC) concept and received Approval in Principle for the design from the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and Lloyd’s Register.

The idea is relatively simple: instead of constructing a massive data center on expensive land, Samsung would build the facility using shipbuilding technology and place it on a floating structure.

Why put a data center on water?

The explosion in AI is creating an enormous demand for data centers. These facilities need three things in huge quantities:

•  Electricity
• Land
• Cooling

Finding suitable land and connecting large data centers to electricity grids can take years.

Samsung believes floating facilities could help overcome some of these problems. Its design can use shipyard construction, allowing much of the facility to be built away from the eventual deployment site.

The facilities can also use seawater-based cooling, potentially reducing the need for conventional cooling systems and freshwater.

Samsung is already working toward a real project

This isn’t just a concept drawing anymore.

In June 2026, Samsung Heavy Industries announced partnerships with Capital Clean Energy Carriers and Lloyd’s Register to develop floating data-center projects. Samsung is responsible for technology development and construction, Capital is involved in project sourcing and investment, while Lloyd’s Register is supporting certification and regulatory work.

Samsung also has a partnership with Mousterian Corporation, a U.S.-based floating-data-center developer.

More recently, Samsung Heavy Industries and Mousterian entered the engineering phase for a 50 MW floating data center planned for Texas. The proposed facility would be moored next to an existing power plant in Houston.

It could be particularly useful for AI

AI data centers are different from ordinary data centers because AI workloads can require enormous amounts of computing power and electricity.

A 50 MW facility is already substantial, and Samsung’s concept is designed around high-density AI computing.

The company is also working with server specialist Supermicro to test AI server systems in river and marine environments.

The goal is to determine whether servers can reliably operate despite conditions that don’t exist inside conventional buildings.

But putting computers at sea is not easy

There are serious engineering challenges.

Servers normally operate in carefully controlled environments. A floating data center introduces:

•  Salt and humidity
• Vibration
• Waves and movement
• Corrosion
• Temperature changes
• Difficult maintenance and repairs
• Cybersecurity concerns
• Complex maritime regulations

Samsung has specifically identified issues such as salt intrusion, humidity and offshore environmental conditions as areas requiring technological solutions.

When could Samsung’s floating data center become reality?

Samsung Heavy Industries has targeted the second quarter of 2028 for commercialization of its floating data-center platform. The company says it is pursuing multiple potential projects.

The first facilities will effectively serve as proof-of-concept projects. If they work reliably, the technology could eventually be deployed in different locations around the world.

The bigger idea

Samsung’s floating data center project is part of a much bigger change happening in the AI industry.

Traditional data centers are increasingly running into problems with land, electricity and cooling.

Companies are therefore looking beyond conventional buildings.

Some are considering nuclear-powered data centers. Others are building facilities next to renewable-energy projects. Samsung is exploring another possibility:

What if the data center doesn’t need to be on land at all?

If Samsung succeeds, the future of AI infrastructure could include enormous floating server farms positioned near coastlines, power plants or other sources of electricity.

The technology is still experimental, and 2028 is a target rather than a guarantee. But Samsung has already moved beyond the idea stage, with an approved 50 MW design, international partnerships and engineering work underway.

Sources: Samsung Heavy Industries; Capital Clean Energy Carriers; Lloyd’s Register; The Register; TechRepublic; Data Center Dynamics; TechRadar.