South Korea's Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has picked Ulsan as the pilot site for an underwater data center designed to scale toward 100,000 servers, backed by a 51.1 billion won (about $35.4 million) budget, with testing targeted for this year and commercial-zone construction set for 2031.
South Korea's Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has selected Ulsan, a hub for the automotive and shipbuilding industries, as the pilot site for its underwater data center projectCITE:E1. The plan calls for submerging server modules and scaling toward a commercial facility, with multiple government and industry partners already engaged on the technical groundworkCITE:E1.
What is the scope and timeline of South Korea's underwater data center project?
The pilot program is budgeted at 51.1 billion won (about $35.4 million), with testing set to begin as early as this year and construction of a commercial-scale zone targeted to start in 2031CITE:E3. Ulsan was chosen as the pilot location given its existing automotive and shipbuilding industrial baseCITE:E1.
What technical and physical challenges must underwater data centers overcome?
South Korea's underwater data center modules will be submerged roughly 20 meters below the seabed and are designed to scale like building blocks toward a capacity of up to 100,000 serversCITE:E2. The project aims to keep electronic equipment running underwater for 5 to 7 years, which requires the modules to withstand water pressure roughly three times standard atmospheric pressure while resisting salt corrosion and condensationCITE:E4.
How will South Korea handle remote operations and monitoring underwater?
South Korea's government began technical cooperation with SK Telecom in January 2026 to develop robots for remote monitoring of the underwater data centerCITE:E5. This robotics work sits alongside the pressure- and corrosion-resistance requirements as a core piece of keeping submerged modules operational without direct physical accessCITE:E5.
What underwater data center precedents exist internationally?
Microsoft published results from its underwater data center demonstration project in 2020, and China has already built a commercial underwater data center off the coast of Hainan provinceCITE:E6. These two cases mark the existing international track record that South Korea's pilot followsCITE:E6.
Which international partners is South Korea working with on this project?
HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering formed a partnership with France's Schneider Electric in July 2026 to jointly develop power infrastructure and floating technology for the projectCITE:E7. This partnership runs alongside the SK Telecom robotics cooperation as a separate technical track within the same pilot programCITE:E7.
Key figures at a glance
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|
| Pilot site | Ulsan | CITE:E1 |
| Submersion depth | About 20 meters below the seabed | CITE:E2 |
| Target server capacity | Up to 100,000 servers | CITE:E2 |
| Pilot program budget | 51.1 billion won (about $35.4 million) | CITE:E3 |
| Commercial-zone construction start | 2031 | CITE:E3 |
| Target operational lifespan | 5 to 7 years | CITE:E4 |
| Required pressure tolerance | About 3x standard atmospheric pressure | CITE:E4 |
| SK Telecom cooperation start | January 2026 | CITE:E5 |
| Microsoft underwater data center demo results published | 2020 | CITE:E6 |
| HD Korea Shipbuilding–Schneider Electric partnership | July 2026 | CITE:E7 |
Taken together, the cited facts show South Korea's project moving on parallel tracks rather than a single linear build: the Ulsan pilot's testing phase and 2031 commercial-zone targetCITE:E3 run alongside a robotics-monitoring effort with SK TelecomCITE:E5 and a separate power-and-floating-technology partnership between HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and Schneider ElectricCITE:E7. Those efforts are also entering a field where Microsoft's 2020 demonstration and China's commercial Hainan facility already existCITE:E6, meaning the specific engineering bar South Korea has set for itself — 5 to 7 years of operation under roughly three times atmospheric pressureCITE:E4 — is what the pilot still has to prove.
Author's Take・EffectStory 編輯部
South Korea's underwater data center plan pairs a modest pilot budget of 51.1 billion won with an ambitious long-term target — a commercial-scale zone capable of housing up to 100,000 servers by 2031. The work is split across specialized partners rather than one integrator: SK Telecom is handling remote-monitoring robotics, while HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering's partnership with Schneider Electric covers power infrastructure and floating technology. Given that Microsoft's 2020 demonstration and China's commercial Hainan facility already show underwater hosting is workable, the real unknown for Korea's project is durability — whether modules can actually sustain 5 to 7 years of operation under roughly three times atmospheric pressure. The pilot testing expected to start this year, well ahead of the 2031 construction target, is the milestone worth watching.