Floating Data Centre Race: 6.5 MW → 200 MW in Five Years

Sep 27

3 min read

18 September, 2026

Floating Data Centre Race: 6.5 MW → 200 MW in Five Years

Why offshore: Land • Grid • Cooling

UNIT COST

🇨🇳 $9.4K/kW — Shanghai HiCloud / Hailanyun — 24 MW
🇺🇸 $3.6K/kW — Hockema — 25 MW
🇺🇸 $6.9K/kW — Nautilus Stockton — 6.5 MW
$6.6K/kW — Simple average*

TECHNICAL VALIDATION

CAPACITY

🇺🇸 6.5 MW critical IT — Nautilus — Operational since 2021 [6]
🇨🇳 2.3 MW live → 24 MW planned — Shanghai HiCloud / Hailanyun — Operational / Expansion [1]
🇯🇵 20–73 MW IT — MOL / Kinetics — Development [7]
🇺🇸 25 MW data power — Hockema — Engineering concept [2]
🇰🇷 50 MW critical IT — Samsung Heavy Industries — AiP [8]
🇰🇷 60 MW IT — Hanwha Ocean — AiP / Pre-FEED completed [4]
🇰🇷 200 MW — basis not publicly specified — Samsung Heavy Industries — AiP [5]

POWER

🇺🇸 Grid, 6.5 MW
🇨🇳 ~95% offshore wind, 24 MW
🇺🇸 Diesel / Natural Gas, 25 MW
🇯🇵 Multi-fuel incl. LNG, 20–73 MW
🇰🇷 Grid / LNG → SOFC under consideration, 50 MW
🇰🇷 Gas engines + ESS, 60 MW

COOLING

🇺🇸 Closed-loop river water, 6.5 MW
🇨🇳 Passive seawater, 24 MW
🇺🇸 Harbour / bay / river water, 25 MW
🇯🇵 Seawater / river water, 20–73 MW
🇰🇷 Seawater, 50 MW
🇰🇷 Seawater, 60 MW

PLATFORM

🇺🇸 Converted / repurposed barge, 6.5 MW
🇨🇳 Subsea sealed modules, 24 MW
🇺🇸 New-build steel barge, 25 MW
🇯🇵 Converted vessel + Powership, 20–73 MW
🇰🇷 New-build barge-type vessel, 50 MW 🇰🇷 New-build floating platform, 60 MW

PROJECTS

🇺🇸 Nautilus Data Technologies — Stockton [6]

6.5 MW critical IT
Operational since 2021
Grid
Closed-loop river-water cooling
Data centre area: 1,858 m²
Leased: 86%
Leased capacity: 5.58 MW
2026 asking price: $45 million

🇨🇳 Shanghai HiCloud / Hailanyun [1]

2.3 MW live → 24 MW planned
Operational / Expansion
95% offshore wind
Passive seawater cooling
Partners: CCCC / Shenergy / China Telecom Shanghai
Total two-phase investment: ~$226 million

🇺🇸 Hockema Floating Data Centre [2]

25 MW data power
Engineering concept
Diesel / Natural Gas
Harbour / bay / river-water cooling
103.6 × 32 m
Draft: 5.5 m
Data floor: 1,858 m²
Diesel storage: 1,287 m³
Concept estimate: ~$90 million, excluding processing units

🇯🇵 MOL / Kinetics Floating Data Centre [7]

20–73 MW IT
Development / conversion
Target: 2027
Multi-fuel Powership incl. LNG
Seawater / river-water cooling
120 × 21.2 m • 9,731 GT
Two-vessel system

🇰🇷 Samsung Heavy Industries — 50 MW [8]

50 MW critical IT
AiP / design approval
Grid / LNG → SOFC under consideration
Seawater cooling
Commercialisation: Q2 2028
Partners: CCEC / Lloyd’s Register / Supermicro / Mousterian / ABB
OpenAI: Joint Floating Data Centre development LOI [3]

🇰🇷 Hanwha Ocean — 60 MW [4]

60 MW IT
AiP / Pre-FEED completed
PUE: ≤1.2 • Tier III or higher
260 × 66 × 17 m
Draft: 6.8 m
Power generation: 10.2 MW Gas Engine × (8+2)
ESS: 1.2 MW × 2

🇰🇷 Samsung Heavy Industries — 200 MW [5]

200 MW — basis not publicly specified
ABS Approval in Principle
4 August 2026

🇨🇳 Wison New Energies — FPDC [9]

Concept study
Unveiled: Gastech 2026, Bangkok

We are exploring modular and floating AI data-centre ideas at an early stage and would welcome dialogue with infrastructure investors and strategic financial partners interested in the next generation of AI infrastructure.

METHODOLOGY

A. Capacity — MW bases differ: IT, critical IT, data power or unspecified.
B. Cost — Shanghai: project investment / 24 MW. Hockema: concept estimate / 25 MW. Nautilus: resale asking price / 6.5 MW. Simple average is arithmetic only; cost bases differ.
C. Status — Operational → Development → Concept → AiP / Pre-FEED. AiP ≠ construction or operation.
D. Sources — Primary/corporate where available; specialist sources where primary technical data are unavailable.

Information cut-off: 18 September 2026.

SOURCES

[1] Shanghai HiCloud / Hailanyun — Lingang / Highlander project disclosures; supplementary developer-sourced reporting.
[2] Hockema — WorkBoat; Hockema Floating Data Centre concept.
[3] Samsung / OpenAI — Samsung Newsroom; Floating Data Centre development LOI.
[4] Hanwha Ocean — Hanwha Maritime Solutions / Gastech 2026 technical materials.
[5] Samsung Heavy Industries — 200 MW — ABS; 200 MW Floating Data Centre AiP.
[6] Nautilus Stockton — Nautilus project information / Data Center Dynamics.
[7] MOL / Kinetics — MOL / Kinetics Floating Data Centre and Powership disclosures.
[8] Samsung Heavy Industries — 50 MW — Lloyd’s Register / Samsung Heavy Industries; supplementary SHI-attributed technical reporting.
[9] Wison New Energies — FPDC concept, Gastech 2026.